Special counsel Cho Eun-seok’s team on Tuesday requested that the court sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death for the crimes of insurrection and abuse of authority as South Korea’s top official.

If convicted, Yoon would become the second former president in the country’s history to be sentenced as an insurrection leader.

Former President Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death for crimes including insurrection, but that sentence was later reduced to life in prison in 1996, though the charges were unchanged. He was pardoned the following year. Former President Roh Tae-woo, Chun’s successor and co-defendant, was sentenced to 17 years in prison as a participant in the insurrection.

“Insurrection is a crime that jeopardizes the fundamental order established by the Constitution,” the special counsel said at the sentencing hearing, held at the Seoul Central District Court and presided over by Judge Jee Kui-youn.

It said the crime by Yoon and his officials must be punished more severely than Chun, saying it was clear that he declared martial law for his dictatorial long-term ruling of the country.

The court ruling on Yoon’s insurrection charge is slated to be made on Feb. 19.

Seven high-ranking former officials of the military and police were tried alongside Yoon for their alleged part in the martial law. The special counsel sought a lifetime in prison for ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, while 30-year prison term was requested for Noh Sang-won, former commander of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command.

Cho’s team requested the court to sentence ex-National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho to 20 years in prison.

Yoon is accused of leading an insurrection by disrupting the constitutional order via what has been ruled by the Constitutional Court as an unlawful and illegal declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. He is also believed to have ordered the arrest of prominent political figures, including then-Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae Myung — now the president — National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.

Illegal actions allegedly committed by Yoon during the short-lived imposition of martial law included blocking off the National Assembly and ordering the suspension of parliamentary activity. Despite the police and military dispatched to the compound, lawmakers forced their way in or sneaked inside to pass the motion to have Yoon’s martial law decree lifted.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea stated Tuesday morning that Yoon should be sentenced to the most severe punishment allowed by law, calling him “the insurrection leader who trampled on the Constitution and democracy, and threatened the lives of the people.”

“(The party) will watch whether the insurrection leader and his accomplices are punished at the highest possible level, in accordance with the law and principle,” Democratic Party Floor Leader Han Byung-do said.

The party’s committee on the special counsel for investigating insurrection said Yoon’s criminal charges are clear, and denounced what it called the defendant’s flagrant attempt to delay the legal proceedings on Friday.

The sentencing hearing was supposed to be concluded Friday, but was postponed when former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun spent over eight hours reviewing paper evidence.

Kim’s lawyer publicly stated that the legal team had secured a full day for Yoon’s defense team to present their case.

“It’s not just a matter of procedure, but an explicit delaying tactic and challenge against the legal system,” the committee said in Tuesday’s press conference.

Yoon’s side denied that defense lawyers had deliberately delayed the hearing, accusing the special counsel of slowing down the process by questioning witnesses that they said were not directly related to the defendant.