Yoon Suk Yeol
Yoon Suk Yeol (Hangul: 윤석열; Hanja: 尹錫悅, born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former public prosecutor. Yoon is the 13th President of South Korea. He took office in 2022. He was Prosecutor General of South Korea from 2019 to 2021. As the chief prosecutor of South Korea, Yoon was important in finding former President Park Geun-hye guilty for abuse of power.[2]
Yoon Suk Yeol | |
|---|---|
윤석열 | |
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| 13th President of South Korea | |
| Assumed office 10 May 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Choo Kyung-ho (acting) Han Duck-soo Choi Sang-mok (acting) |
| Preceded by | Moon Jae-in |
| Prosecutor General of South Korea | |
| In office 25 July 2019 – 4 March 2021 | |
| President | Moon Jae-in |
| Preceded by | Moon Moo-il |
| Succeeded by | Cho Nam-kwan (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 December 1960 Seoul, South Korea |
| Political party | People Power (2021–present) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Education | Seoul National University (LLB, LLM) |
| Religion | Catholicism (Christian Name: Ambrose)[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Yun Seok-yeol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yun Sok-yol |
In December 2024, Yoon declared declared martial law in the country, however it was quickly reversed by the National Assembly. He was then impeached on 7 December, however stayed in office after the vote was not successful.[3] Yoon was then successfully impeached on 14 December 2024, with his presidential duties suspended.[4]
Early life
changeYoon was born and raised in Seoul. In 1979, he graduated from Chungam High School in Seoul. In 1983, he graduated from Seoul National University with an undergraduate degree in law. He then did graduate work at the same university, earning a master's degree from the School of Law in 1988. He was admitted to the bar in 1991.
Professional career
changeFrom 1994 through 2001, he worked at district prosecutors offices in Daegu, Seoul and Busan.
In 2008, Yoon became the head prosecutor of Nonsan branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors Office. From 2009 through 2011, he worked in the Supreme Prosecutor's Office.[5]
In 2013, he rose to head prosecutor of the Yeoju branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office, where he led a special investigation of an opinion- rigging case involving the National Intelligence Service.[5]
In the years 2014 to 2016, he worked at the high prosecutor's offices in Daegu and Daejeon.[5]
In 2016, he led the special probe on the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, which eventually led to her impeachment. In 2017, he became the head of the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office.[5]
In 2019, he became Prosecutor General of the nation. He resigned that post in March of 2021.[5]
Presidency (since 2022)
changeYoon was the nominee for the conservative People Power Party for president in the 2022 election.[6][7] He defeated Lee Jae-myung by a small amount of votes and was elected president on 9 March 2022.[8]
On 20 March 2022, he announced that he would make his presidential office in the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan District, Seoul, instead of the Blue House, which opened as a public park on 10 May 2022.[9] In his inauguration he said he would support talks with North Korea, however called them a threat because of recent missile testing activity.[10]
In late July 2022, Yoon said he wanted to create a "police bureau" so that his government can have better control over police in the country.[11] Many police officers and chiefs did not support this and protested the decision, with Yoon threatening to fire them and put them in jail.[12]
Yoon's approval rating dropped to less than 30 percent in July 2022, after three months in office, because of the country's rising inflation.[13]
In December 2024, Yoon declared martial law during a late night address, accusing the country’s main opposition Democratic Party of supporting North Korea and "anti-state activities".[5] It is the first time that martial law has been declared since the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980.[14][15] The National Assembly passed a resolution that ended the decree and shortly afterwards entered a motion to start impeachment proceedings against Yoon.[16] On 7 December, Yoon survived the impeachment vote by five votes, however members of his party called on him to resign.[17][18] PPP leader Han Dong-hoon stated that Yoon promised to resign nonetheless.[19] On 14 December, a second impeachment motion filed against him passed in the National Assembly after 204 lawmakers, including 12 from the PPP, voted in favor. His powers and duties were suspended pending a final decision by the Constitutional Court of Korea.[20]
On 31 December, the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon with charges relating to abuse of power, and orchestrating the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis.[21] At first, Yoon hid in the presidential residence, where hundreds of his supporters have gathered and fought with police and critics of Yoon.[22] On 3 January, authorities tried to arrest Yoon at the presidential compound, but were unable to after being physically blocked by the Presidential Security Service.[23] After the warrant expired on 6 January, the Seoul Western District Court extended the warrant the next day.[24] Yoon was arrested on 15 January 2025.[25]
Personal life
changeYoon married Kim Keon-hee in 2012.[5]
References
change- ↑ "윤석열 후보자 정보 대선2022". joongang.co.kr. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ↑ Shin, Hyonhee (2021-11-05). "S.Korea's ex-top prosecutor to challenge Moon's party in 2022 presidential election". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
- ↑ Kim, Cynthia; Park, Ju-min; Lee, Joyce (7 December 2024). "South Korea's Yoon survives martial law impeachment move after his party boycotts vote". Reuters.
- ↑ "Yoon suspended from presidential duties after impeachment vote". The Korea Times. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 주경돈 (2022-03-10). "Chronology of major events in President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's biography". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-10. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Lee, Haye-ah (5 November 2021). "(LEAD) Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon wins presidential nomination of main opposition People Power Party". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ↑ Jun-tae, Ko (5 November 2021). "Yoon Seok-youl picked as presidential nominee for People Power Party". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
- ↑ Breaking | South Korea election: Yoon Suk-yeol wins mandate to tackle inequality, US-China relations and Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions
- ↑ S. Korea's next leader to abandon Blue House for new office[permanent dead link] - SFG(30 March 2022)
- ↑ South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk Yeol urges North Korean denuclearization in inauguration address
- ↑ Lee, Jeong-Ho; Cha, Sangmi (26 July 2022). "Feud With Police Adds to South Korea President's Early Struggles". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ↑ "Gathering of Korea's police chiefs touches off storm of disciplinary action by higher-ups". The Hankyoreh. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ↑ "Yoon's approval rating sinks below 30 pct amid inflation, controversy over personnel appointments". Yonhap News Agency. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ↑ "South Korea's president declares emergency martial law". Al Jazeera. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ↑ "South Korea President Yoon declares martial law". Reuters. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
- ↑ 원주, 이 (4 December 2024). "(URGENT) Opposition parties set to submit motion on Yoon's impeachment to Nat'l Assembly after lifting of martial law". Yonhap News Agency.
- ↑ "Vote to impeach South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol fails after boycott by ruling party MPs". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
- ↑ Kim, Cynthia; Park, Ju-min; Lee, Joyce (December 7, 2024). "South Korea's Yoon survives martial law impeachment move after his party boycotts vote". Reuters.
- ↑ "South Korea president to resign despite surviving impeachment vote, party says". France 24. 2024-12-08. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
- ↑ "South Korean MPs impeach president over martial law attempt". BBC. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
- ↑ Kim, Seung-yeon (2024-12-31). "Court issues warrant to detain impeached President Yoon in martial law probe". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
- ↑ "South Korea's impeached president resists arrest over martial law bid". France 24. 2 January 2024.
- ↑ "South Korean authorities halt bid to arrest Yoon after hours-long standoff". Al Jazeera. 2 January 2024.
- ↑ "Court grants extension of warrant to detain Yoon". Yonhap News Agency. 7 January 2024.
- ↑ Sarnoff, Leah; Cho, Joohee. "Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol detained over martial law declaration". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-01-15.