In a stunning escalation of South Korea’s most dramatic political crisis in decades, the country’s special prosecutor has formally requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, further intensifying the legal battle over his controversial and ultimately failed attempt to impose martial law in December of last year.

Yoon, who was ousted from office in April following a series of damning revelations, had already been arrested earlier this year but was released after 52 days in custody due to procedural errors. He now faces renewed legal jeopardy as the special prosecutor, appointed just weeks ago, accelerates a wide-ranging investigation into what has been described as an attempted insurrection against the South Korean democratic order.

The scandal surrounding Yoon erupted when reports surfaced that he had sought to unilaterally impose martial law on December 3, 2024, ostensibly to counter what he described as a “threat to democracy” from the then-opposition Democratic Party. The move, which bypassed the National Assembly and key defense and legal institutions, sparked widespread condemnation and fears of a return to military-style authoritarianism-echoes of which still haunt a nation that transitioned to democracy only in the late 1980s.

The declaration, ultimately thwarted by a combination of public outcry, opposition resistance, and internal dissent within the military, forced Yoon into a constitutional crisis that culminated in his impeachment and eventual removal from office in April........

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