By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-14 10:51:24 | Updated at 2024-12-14 13:40:05
3 hours ago
Yoon Suk-yeol rose from public prosecutor to the nation’s highest office in just a few years, but as South Korea’s president he staggered from scandal to scandal before plunging the country into crisis by declaring martial law.
The lurch back to the nation’s dark days of military rule only lasted a few hours, and after a night of protests and high drama last week Yoon was forced into a U-turn.
But polls show a huge majority of citizens want him out and lawmakers voted on Saturday to impeach him. He is now the third South Korean president to be impeached by parliamentary vote, and if upheld by the Constitutional Court would be the second to be removed from office.
This week Yoon had vowed to fight “until the very last minute” in a defiant public address in which he doubled down on claims the opposition was in league with South Korea’s communist enemies.
Born in Seoul in 1960 months before a military coup, Yoon studied law and went on to become a star public prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader.
He played an instrumental role in the 2016 impeachment of Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female president, who was later convicted for abuse of power and imprisoned.
