As Korea awaits a landmark sentencing against former President Yoon Suk Yeol, expected this Tuesday, prosecutors find themselves legally constrained by the country’s narrow range of possible punishments. Yoon faces charges of insurrection over his Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration, making him the first president in Korea’s democratic history to be indicted on such counts for actions taken while in office. Under the Criminal Act’s strict provisions governing insurrection ringleaders, sentencing options are limited to three: death, life imprisonment with labor, or life imprisonment without labor. Although South Korea has not carried out an execution in more than a quarter-century, the unprecedented nature of the case — compounded by Yoon’s steadfast denial of responsibility — has reignited a national debate over whether the ultimate penalty should be considered, nearly 30 years after it was last sought against a former head of state. Prosecutors and lawyers closely observing the situation say that because Yoon has flatly denied all charges, shown no remorse and continued to