SEOUL, Feb 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A South Korean court will rule Thursday on insurrection charges against ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, weighing whether he should be sentenced to death for his failed bid to impose military rule. Prosecutors have sought the harshest penalty on the insurrection charges, urging the Seoul Central District Court to put Yoon on death row during hearings in January. South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment -- the last prisoners were executed in 1997 -- with a death sentence effectively banishing Yoon to life behind bars. - Life, or death row -Under South Korean law, only two sentences are fit for insurrection: life imprisonment or death. A legal observer said the court would most likely sentence Yoon to life in prison.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha February 19, 2026 03:49 UTC