South Korea punishes former president who thought he could unravel democracy

It took just 11 days for South Korean lawmakers to impeach former President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and threatened to unravel decades of hard-won democracy. Now, 14 months after that ill-fated announcement, which led to lawmakers forcing their way past soldiers and police to enter parliament and security forces deployed to the election commission’s offices, Yoon has been convicted of leading an insurrection and sentenced to life in prison. Yoon’s reckoning is the result of South Korea’s mammoth push to hold a head of state accountable for almost tearing up his nation’s democratic institutions. Though his…