Seoul, South Korea (AP) – YOON SUK YEOL’s The political ascent was rapid: the former star prosecutor won the presidency of South Korea only a year after its entry into politics.
But his fall was even faster: the Constitutional Court removed it from its functions Friday, about four months after making a Deeply confusing decision To declare martial law and send troops to the streets of Seoul.
The style of Yoon – highly asserted and voluntary, but often without compromise and inflexible – probably worked for a prosecutor who resisted increases, but not for a forced president to work with a legislature dominated by the opposition on a range of controversial questions, according to observers.
Yoon, 64, a curator, said that his Martial law decree was a desperate attempt to call on public support for his fight against the “anti-state” rivals who used their parliamentary majority to hinder his agenda and involve senior officials. But many observers say that the stuntman was a political suicide, while the liberal parliament controlled by the opposition quickly canceled Yoon’s decree before indictment and send his case to Constitutional court.
Yoon was separately accused by prosecutors for rebellionAn accusation that can bear the death penalty or perpetuity imprisonment.
In a brief declaration published after the court’s decision, Yoon said that he deeply regretted not being able to be up to the hopes and expectations of the people, but did not say if he would accept the verdict.
Here is what you need to know about Yoon’s life to understand the sudden end of his presidency.
A popular prosecutor
Before becoming president in 2022, Yoon worked as a prosecutor for about 26 years, establishing an image as a strong spirit prosecutor who did not give in to pressure from powerful figures.
Yoon became celebrity in 2013, when he publicly accused his boss of putting him pressure to abandon surveys with high issues on allegations that the state intelligence agency had carried out an illegal online campaign to help the curator Park Geun-Hye Win the presidential election of the previous year.
During a parliament hearing, Yoon said: “I am not faithful to people (high level).”
He was demoted, but after the Park government was overthrown on a scandal separated from corruption in 2017, Liberal President Moon Jae-in made the head of a Seoul prosecutors who investigated Park and other conservative leaders. Yoon was then appointed Moon Attorney General.
Political recruit of the year
In 2021, Yoon left the administration of the Moon and entered politics following disputes on probes of allies from the Moon. Moon supporters accused Yoon of trying to frustrate Moon’s push to reform the Korean prosecution service and strengthen its political position. Yoon, for his part, called the Moon government as “corrupt”, “incompetent” and “arrogant”.
Yoon then joined the opposition party People Power, the largest conservative party in the country, whose leaders he had previously studied, when he sought to adopt a popular external figure to lead his struggle to find power during the presidential election of the following year.
In 2022, during his first national electoral campaign, Yoon defeated the candidate of the Democratic Party Lee JAE-MYUNG During the most closely fought presidential election in the country.
The race in the elections has become nasty, With Yoon describing Lee’s party as “Hitler” and “Mussolini” while a partner called the so -called “parasites” aid. Lee’s allies called Yoon “a beast”, “dictator” and “an empty can” and by deriving his wife on the affirmations that she had suffered a plastic operation.
A turbulent presidency
In foreign policy, Yoon was recognized for having worked hard to strengthen the military alliance of South Korea with the United States and repair disputes with Japan on historic trauma to build a more solid trilateral security partnership to cope with the advanced nuclear program of North Korea.
In April 2023, Yoon charmed a white house state dinner while singing “American pie” At the request of the president of the time, Joe Biden. In August 2023, Yoon, Biden and the Minister of Primary of Japan, Fumio Kishida, met at Camp David at the first autonomous trilateral summit in their country, where they agreed to strengthen the cooperation of the defense. Yoon and Kishida have rekindled high -level talks and withdrawn the reciprocal economic restrictions imposed under their predecessors.
But at the national level, Yoon’s office time was spoiled by almost constant political conflicts with Lee’s party, unprecedented in the deeply polarized political world of South Korea.
With the control of the National Assembly, the Democratic Party filed a total of 30 Recovers of indictment against senior officials. None has yet been confirmed by the Constitutional Court, except that of Yoon. The Yoon administration has opposed the invoices led by the opposition about 40 times.
Finally, Yoon tried to unravel the blockage by declaring martial law. He says it was an attempt to appeal to the public help to overcome the “wickedness” of the Democratic Party. Critics say he was simply aiming to use force to impose his will on the legislature.
In his martial law announcement, Yoon described the Assembly led by the Democratic Party as “a den of criminals”, “a monster” and “anti-state forces”. The leaders of the Democratic Party castigated Yoon’s martial law, calling it “alcoholic”, “a madman” and “the leader of a rebellion”.
Woman struck by scandals
Some observers say that the decree of martial law was more probably motivated by Yoon’s hope to frustrate an offer led by the opposition to open a special survey on allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
Kim’s allegations include images of spy cameras showing the first lady accepting a luxury bag as a gift from a pastor; speculation that was involved in a system of manipulation of the share prices; And the revelations that she, with Yoon, has exerted an inappropriate influence on the people Power Party to choose a candidate to present himself in the parliamentary partial elections in 2022.
Kim’s scandals and Yoon’s refusal to apologize and accept investigations provided the political ammunition of the Democratic Party throughout his mandate.