Weary South Korea awaits verdict in Yoon insurrection trial

Judges are due to deliver a consequential verdict on insurrection charges against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. The hearing will be held in courtroom 417 of Seoul central district court, the same room where the military dictator Chun Doo‑hwan was sentenced to death three decades ago.

The charge is formally the same; Chun's sentence was later reduced and he was eventually pardoned. Whereas Chun's case took almost 17 years and a democratic transition to reach a verdict, this case has taken 14 months. Under the criminal code, leading an insurrection carries three possible sentences: death, life with labour, or life without labour.

South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997, so a death sentence would in practice mean permanent exclusion from society with no possibility of parole. The months‑long saga, in which 27 people have been indicted over the martial law crisis, has left people exhausted and divided; some say they simply want to move on.

South Korea, Seoul

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