South Korea has impeached President Yook Suk Yeol on charges of insurrection over his short-lived martial arts declaration on December 3.
The 64-year-old was arrested on January 15 after a weeks-long standoff between anti-corruption investigators and his personal security detail.
He was the country’s first president to be arrested and charged with a crime.
Yoon’s attempts at martial law were limited to political instability. This led to his impeachment by parliament on December 14, although the Constitutional Court still had to decide whether his impeachment was final.
The Central Investigation Office of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIO) also began investigating Yoon for carrying out the uprising – which could result in prison or death.
However, Yuan refused to cooperate with authorities and ignored several subpoenas for questioning. This resulted in the CIO applying for a warrant to bring him in.
The first attempt to arrest him failed on January 3, with his supporters and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) preventing authorities from contacting him at his official residence in Seoul.
The successful attempt to deploy 1,000 officers from the police and CIO was initially blocked by the PSS, who erected roadblocks to prevent investigators from entering.
In a three-minute video message sent after his arrest, Yoon said that while he continued to object to the investigation into him, he agreed to appear before investigators to “prevent any unpleasant bloodshed.”
But even before his martial law, Yoon had found himself in a political quagmire, under increasing pressure from personal scandals and the opposition.
Come on stage
Yoon was a relative newcomer to politics when he won the presidency. He gained national prominence by prosecuting corrupt former President Park Geun-Hye in 2016.
In 2022, the political novice defeated his liberal rival Lee Jae-Myung with less than 1% of the vote – the country’s closest result since direct elections began being held in 1987.
Yoon won through young male voters who ran on an anti-feminist platform at a time when South Korean society is grappling with gender divisions.
When Don S Lee, associate professor of public administration at Sungkyunkwan University, was elected, people had “high hopes” for Yoon when he was elected. “Those who voted for Yoon believe that the new government under Yoon will pursue values such as principle, transparency and efficiency.”
Yoon also promoted a hawkish stance on North Korea. He was cited by Yoon when she tried to impose martial law.
He said he needed to guard against North Korean forces and “eliminate anti-national elements,” although it was clear from the start that his announcement was less about the threat from the North and more about the threat to his family’s plight.
Yoon is known for his turnovers, which hasn’t helped his ratings. During his 2022 campaign, he had to go back with a comment that autocratic President Chun Doo-Hwan, who declared martial law and was responsible for the massacre of protesters in 1980, was “good at politics.”
Later that year, he was forced to deny comments he made after meeting US President Joe Biden in New York.
He was caught on a hot mic and was seen on camera calling our legislators a Korean word that could be translated as “idiot” or something stronger. The lens quickly became popular in Korea.
Still, Yoon has had some successes in foreign policy, notably improving ties in the country’s historical relationship with Japan.
“Political Miscalculation”
Much of the scandal surrounding Yoon’s presidency has centered around corruption and influence-peddling by his wife, Kim Keon Hee, who is allegedly best known for accepting Dior bags from pastors.
In November, Yoon apologized on behalf of his wife while rejecting calls for an investigation into her activities – a move that did little to help his faltering approval.
Yoon was demoted to lame duck president after the opposition Democratic Party won a landslide parliamentary election last April. The result was widely seen as a vote of no confidence in Yoon’s tenure.
Since then, Yoon has been reduced to vetoing the bill passed by the opposition.
“He’s used an unprecedented presidential veto,” said Celeste Arrington, director of the School of Korean Studies at George Washington University. “In terms of his governing style, his critics have called it authoritarian. “
He also faces growing pressure from political opponents. Under Yin’s declaration, the opposition slashed the budget proposed by Yin’s ruling party and proposed impeaching cabinet members for failing to investigate the first lady’s budget.
With such a political challenge putting his back against the wall, Yoon turned to the nuclear option – a move that was predictable if anything.
Dr Arrington said many feared a political crisis “because of the confrontation between the president and the opposition-controlled National Assembly.” “Although few predicted extreme moves such as declaring martial law.”
Leif-eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said President Yoon’s declaration of martial law was a “legal escalation and political misunderstanding.”
“He sounds like a politician,” Dr Easley told the BBC. “With no strong support from the public, and without strong support within his own party and government, the president should have known that enforcing the late-night decree would have How difficult.”
December 4, 2024, Koreans from one of the most chaotic nights in recent memory [Getty Images]
as a result of
The crisis engulfed the Yuan government in the wake of martial law, with the involvement of senior officials and military personnel, including frontline ministers and police and army chiefs.
Divisions have solidified divisions in the ruling PPP, which has teetered between defending the unpopular leader and condemning him.
Yoon’s impeachment vote was passed by a majority of PPP lawmakers who opposed Yuan in parliament. Party leader Han Dong-Hoon, who called for Yoon as the only way forward, resigned as internal conflict intensified shortly after the vote.
Meanwhile, deadlock persists in the opposition-dominated parliament.
Opposition lawmakers have been impeached, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president after the Yuan Dynasty. They accused Han of being Yoon’s “puppet” after vetoing the opposition-led bill and refusing to appoint three constitutional judges to oversee Yoon’s impeachment trial.
Although Finance Minister Choi Sang-Mok is currently in charge, the opposition has also threatened to impeach him.
Anger swept the country as large crowds took to the streets to announce Yuan’s impeachment. However, Yuan’s supporters are holding protests of their own.
Throughout the chaos, Yoon projected what his critics saw as defiance — or, as his supporters saw it, determination.
After his arrest, Yuen thanked his supporters.
“Even though these are dark days… the future of this country is hopeful,” he said.
“To my fellow citizens, I wish you all the best and stay strong. Thank you.”
