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Yoon Suk Yeol
Yoon Suk Yeol | |
|---|---|
윤석열 | |
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| 13th President of South Korea | |
| Assumed office 10 May 2022[a] | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Moon Jae-in |
| Prosecutor General of South Korea | |
| In office 25 July 2019 – 4 March 2021 | |
| President | Moon Jae-in |
| Preceded by | Mun Mu-il |
| Succeeded by | Kim Oh-soo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 December 1960 Seoul, South Korea |
| Political party | People Power (since 2021) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (before 2021) |
| Spouse | |
| Parent |
|
| Residence | Presidential residence |
| Education | Seoul National University (LLB, LLM) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Gyong (굥)[1] |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 윤석열 |
| Hanja | 尹錫悅 |
| Revised Romanization | Yun Seokyeol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yun Sŏgyŏl |
| IPA | [junsʰʌ̹ŋɲ̟ʌ̹ɭ, -ɟʌ̹ɭ][b] |
Yoon Suk Yeol[b] (Korean: 윤석열; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who has served as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Yoon was born in Seoul and earned two degrees from Seoul National University. In his capacity as chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, he played a key role in convicting former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak of abuse of power.[3][4][5] In 2019, then-president Moon Jae-in appointed Yoon as prosecutor general of South Korea from 2019 to 2021. During Yoon's leadership, the Supreme Prosecutor's Office conducted embattled investigations into Cho Kuk, an influential figure in the Moon administration, that led to Cho's resignation as minister of justice.[6][7] Yoon's clashes with the Moon administration prior to his resignation as prosecutor general in March 2021 led to his rise as a potential presidential candidate among conservative voters.
In June 2021, Yoon announced his candidacy in the 2022 South Korean presidential election. He joined the right-wing People Power Party (PPP) in July and won its nomination in November. Considered a conservative and economically liberal politician, Yoon ran on a platform promising economic deregulation and measures such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. He narrowly defeated Democratic Party nominee Lee Jae-myung by less than a percentage point on 9 March 2022 and assumed office as president on 10 May, becoming the first elected president to be born after the end to fighting in the Korean War. During his presidency, Yoon's foreign policy has been described as both more hawkish toward North Korea and friendlier to Japan compared to previous South Korean presidents. His handling of the Seoul Halloween crowd crush in 2022[8] and the ongoing medical crisis has attracted criticism.[9] In the 2024 parliamentary midterm elections, Yoon's party suffered an electoral defeat, which weakened his political power.[10][11]
Under Yoon's tenure, South Korea has undergone democratic backsliding and a shift towards authoritarianism. He has received mostly low approval ratings as president and has been described as a lame duck.[12]
On 3 December 2024, Yoon declared martial law in South Korea, the first time it had been declared since the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980. He justified the declaration by accusing members of the National Assembly of being pro-North Korea; however, Yoon lifted it after the National Assembly passed an emergency motion nullifying the declaration several hours after Yoon's speech.[13] Amid widespread criticism over the declaration and the mass protests it spurred, an impeachment motion was introduced against Yoon on 4 December in the National Assembly,[14] though it fell short of the 200 needed to pass.[15][16][17] He was successfully impeached in a second vote on 14 December 2024, with 204 voting in favor, including 12 members of his own party. Since 14 December 2024, Yoon has been suspended from his presidential powers following his impeachment by the National Assembly of Korea.[18] The Constitutional Court of Korea is in the process of determining whether he should be permanently removed or restored to office. On 31 December 2024, Yoon became the first President in South Korean history to face an arrest warrant.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ 정남구 (8 January 2023). '윤'과 '굥'…서울교통'굥'사 소동 [유레카]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ 박창원 (13 April 2021). 윤석열, '윤서결' 혹은 '윤성녈'. Kyungbuk Maeil. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Who is Yoon Seok-youl, South Korea's conservative candidate for president?". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Shin, Hyonhee (5 November 2021). "S.Korea's ex-top prosecutor to challenge Moon's party in 2022 presidential election". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Shin, Mitch (5 November 2021). "Yoon Suk-yeol Wins People Power Party's Presidential Primary". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Gibson, Jenna (16 October 2019). "South Korea's Cho Kuk Saga Ends". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Gibson, Jenna (10 December 2020). "South Korea's Prosecution Reform Saga Heads Toward Final Showdown". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ "Thousands attend candlelight vigils for Halloween disaster victims across South Korea". ABC News. 6 November 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Tenacious or stubborn? Yoon's medical reform plan faces crisis". The Korea Times. 7 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Shin, Mitch. "In South Korea, President Yoon's Lame Duck Era Officially Begins". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ "Election rout makes Yoon's 'lame duck' fears reality". The Japan Times. Jiji Press. 11 April 2024. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ^ Kim, E. Tammy (30 September 2023). "The Worrying Democratic Erosions in South Korea". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ "South Korea cabinet lifts martial law". BBC News. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ "South Korea's opposition parties move to impeach president over sudden declaration of martial law". Associated Press. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ Phillips, Aleks (7 December 2024). "South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol survives impeachment vote". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "South Korean parliament passes bill seeking counsel probe of Yoon". Aljazeera. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ "South Korea president to resign despite surviving impeachment vote, party says". France 24. 8 December 2024. Archived from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "South Korea's parliament votes to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law order". AP News. 14 December 2024. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
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