Yoon Suk Yeol is finding out that acting like a movie villain has a very high price tag. South Korean prosecutors on Friday requested a 30-year prison term for the ousted President. The charge is simple but dramatic: Yoon allegedly ordered drone flights over Pyongyang to stir up a war so he could declare martial law. He wanted a warlike situation to remove his political opponents and keep his grip on power, according to special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk.

While Yoon faces three decades behind bars, the rest of the country is throwing a party. South Korea’s economy roared past estimates in the first quarter thanks to a massive chip boom. The central bank reported a 1.7% expansion, the fastest growth since 2020. It seems the country doesn't need a president when it has semiconductors and a booming stock market.

"Yoon tried to create a warlike situation," the prosecutor’s statement claimed in a Seoul Central District Court. His former defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, is looking at 25 years for his part in the drama. It is a classic tale of high-stakes hubris: one man tries to play with drones, and the world moves on to make billions without him.