South Korea’s president may face death penalty

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison today on charges that included the use of government forces to block his own arrest following his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024. Yoon’s declaration of martial law to supposedly thwart “anti-state forces” within the government stunned the nation and plunged it into its worst political crisis in decades. Hours later, the parliament voted 190-0 to reverse it on the grounds that Yoon was only trying to protect himself from impeachment. He blocked the enforcement of a court-issued arrest warrant with hundreds of presidential security officers, and he attempted to do the same when a second warrant was issued, but was finally arrested by police. Today’s conviction marks the start of an unprecedented reckoning in South Korean history, with Yoon still facing other charges, including insurrection and a possible death sentence. While democracy is better than other human systems of government, South Korea’s crisis underscores the fact that even this system is fundamentally inadequate for justly governing mankind. To understand the only government that truly works, read “Democracy Is Dying.”