Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, quickly moved up the political ladder from being a public prosecutor to the country’s leader in just a few years. However, his presidency has been marked by many scandals, and recently, he declared martial law, pushing the nation into a crisis. This move only lasted a few hours, as widespread protests forced him to backtrack. Now, a large majority of South Koreans want him out, and lawmakers voted on Saturday to impeach him.
Yoon is now the third president in South Korea’s history to be impeached by parliament. If the Constitutional Court agrees with the decision, he will be the second president to be removed from office. He has said he will fight back to keep his position and has accused the opposition of working with the country’s enemies.
Born during a military dictatorship in 1960, Yoon became well-known as a public prosecutor who fought corruption. He helped impeach Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female president, for abuse of power in 2016. In 2019, he also indicted a senior aide from the administration of Park’s successor, Moon Jae-in.
Yoon won the presidency in March 2022, but his popularity has been low, especially among women. Scandals and poor handling of situations like the 2022 Halloween crowd crush, which killed over 150 people, have hurt his reputation. People blame him for rising food prices, a weak economy, and limiting free speech. His wife also faced controversy when she was caught accepting a designer handbag as a gift, which Yoon defended.
As president, Yoon has taken a tough approach to North Korea and has tried to strengthen ties with the United States. He even surprised President Biden by singing at the White House. However, his efforts to improve relations with Japan have faced backlash from many South Koreans.
Since the opposition Democratic Party gained control in parliament, Yoon’s influence has weakened. Recently, he declared martial law, claiming it was necessary to deal with legislative problems. Experts criticized this move, saying it was unreasonable to impose martial law when there was no war or emergency situation.
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