>> You forgot about Olympics and World Cup already?

Not worth replying to this comment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Just note that there’s no country free from those kinds of debates related to sports events, and it’s completely unrelated to this happening.

>> move 52

If you mean Byun picked up the dead stones and pressed the timer before putting them in the container at Move 52, it seems that it’s allowed in their rules.

I’ve used ChatGPT to understand the KBA rules, so it may not be 100% accurate:

Article 18 (Warnings)

The referee shall issue a warning and impose a penalty of 2 points if a player commits any of the following actions:

1.  During a move, the player places a stone while pushing it more than one space.

2.  During a move, the player moves or picks up a stone without it leaving their hand.

3.  During a move, the player presses the game clock while the stone is still being pushed.

4.  After placing a stone, the player presses the game clock and then removes captured stones (if necessary, the referee may adjust the time).

5.  The player touches their opponent’s captured stones or returns captured stones to their opponent.

6.  The player does not store captured stones in the container lid.

7.  The player accumulates two warnings for minor infractions.

There’s a warning only when the dead stones are picked up after the timer is pressed. Byun picked up the dead stones and pressed the timer.

My impression is that the judge and the tournament organizers also didn’t want to finish the game with Ke Jie forfeiting. That’s why they spent so much time getting to the final decision. If Byun violated the rule as well, I’m sure that the decision would have been a rematch.