South Korea’s Yoon awaits verdict as insurrection rulings mount: ‘the game is over’

Two recent convictions tied to Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived 2024 martial law decree have effectively sealed his fate, some legal observers say, as judges prepare to rule on the insurrection charge against the former South Korean president.On Thursday, a three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 25 is set to deliver its verdict and sentence on the 65-year-old, weighing the prosecution’s request for the death penalty and any mitigating factors.The ruling will test whether the court aligns with the panels in those earlier cases, which defined Yoon’s martial law imposition as an act of rebellion – a conclusion that will prove pivotal in determining his fate.Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s team has argued that Yoon’s declaration of martial law amounted to an insurrection, alleging that he conspired with senior officials to deploy troops to the opposition-controlled National Assembly in an effort to neutralise it and entrench his hold on power.Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol appears at a court hearing in Seoul on January 13, when special counsel sought the death penalty on insurrection charges. Photo: XinhuaThey argued that his actions had caused “enormous damage and harm to the state and society” and that he had “never once sincerely apologised to the public”.