Yoon Suk Yeol: Who is South Korea's arrested president?

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested on suspicion of corruption after a weeks-long standoff with anti-corruption investigators and his own security detail. The 64-year-old president, who briefly declared martial law on December 3, throwing South Korea into political turmoil, has become the first sitting president to be arrested.

Yoon's attempt to impose martial law led to his impeachment by the National Assembly on December 14, although the Constitutional Court still needs to decide if the impeachment will ultimately stand. Additionally, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) also began investigating Yoon for insurrection, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty. However, Yoon refused to cooperate with authorities, ignoring multiple summons to appear for questioning, which prompted the CIO to seek an arrest warrant to take him into custody.

On January 15, Yoon was finally arrested after a failed attempt to apprehend him 12 days earlier. At that time, his supporters and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) prevented authorities from entering his official residence in Seoul. This successful arrest involved 1,000 officers from the police and the CIO, who ultimately succeeded despite initial roadblocks set up by the PSS to prevent investigators from entering.

In a three-minute video released after his arrest, Yoon stated that while he continues to oppose the investigation against him, he agreed to submit to questioning by investigators to "prevent any unnecessary bloodshed." However, even before declaring martial law, Yoon had been in political trouble, facing personal scandals and growing pressure from the opposition.

Yoon was a relative political newcomer when he won the presidency. He rose to prominence for prosecuting former President Park Geun-hye on corruption charges in 2016. In 2022, the political novice narrowly defeated his liberal opponent, Lee Jae-myung, by less than 1%, in what was the closest election in South Korea since direct elections began in 1987. At the time, South Korean society was facing a growing divide over gender issues, and Yoon appealed to young male voters by advocating an anti-feminist platform.

Lee Dong-sun, an associate professor of public administration at Sungkyunkwan University, stated that people had "high expectations" for Yoon when he was elected. "Those who voted for Yoon believed that a new government under Yoon's leadership would pursue values such as principles, transparency, and efficiency." Yoon also took a hard line on North Korea. He also referenced North Korea when attempting to impose martial law, claiming the need to protect the nation from threats by the North Korean military and to “purge anti-state elements,” although it was clear from the outset that his statements were more about domestic woes than any threat from North Korea.

Yoon is known for making gaffes, which have not helped his approval ratings. During the 2022 campaign, he had to walk back comments that former president Chun Doo-hwan was "good at politics." Chun had declared martial law and was responsible for the massacre of protesters in 1980. Later that year, after meeting with US President Joe Biden in New York, he was forced to deny insulting the US Congress. He was caught on microphone and camera appearing to call US lawmakers "idiots" or stronger words in Korean. The video quickly went viral in South Korea.

Nevertheless, Yoon has had some success in foreign policy, particularly in improving historically strained relations between South Korea and Japan. Many of the scandals surrounding President Yoon's term have focused on his wife, Kim Keon-hee, who has been accused of corruption and influence peddling, most notably for allegedly accepting a Dior bag as a gift from a pastor. In November, Yoon apologized on behalf of his wife while rejecting calls for an investigation into her activities, a move that did nothing to help his approval ratings.

Yoon became a lame-duck president after the opposition Democratic Party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections last April. The result was widely seen as a vote of no confidence in Yoon's presidency. Since then, Yoon has been left to veto bills passed by the opposition. “He’s using presidential vetoes at an unprecedented rate,” said Celeste Arrington, director of the Korea Institute at George Washington University. “In terms of his style of governance, his critics are calling it authoritarian.”

He has also faced increasing pressure from his political opponents. Before Yoon declared martial law, the opposition cut the budget proposed by Yoon's ruling party and moved to impeach cabinet members for failing to investigate the First Lady. Faced with such political challenges, Yoon resorted to the nuclear option, a move few had predicted. Dr. Arrington said that many were worried about a political crisis “because of the confrontation between the president and the opposition-controlled parliament,” though few anticipated such an extreme measure as martial law.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, believes that President Yoon's declaration of martial law was “legally overreaching and politically miscalculated.” “He sounded like a politician under siege,” Dr. Easley told the BBC. “With very low public approval ratings and not strong support within his own party and government, the president should have known how difficult it would be to implement his late-night decree.”

In the wake of the martial law declaration, crisis enveloped Yoon’s government, with multiple senior officials, including the former defense minister and the heads of the police and military, under investigation for their alleged involvement. Divisions within the ruling PPP have solidified, with the party oscillating between defending the unpopular leader and denouncing him. Yoon’s impeachment vote passed in parliament, with most PPP lawmakers voting against it. Party leader Han Dong-hoon resigned shortly after the vote, having previously called for Yoon’s removal as the only way out, further deepening the internal conflict.

Meanwhile, the opposition-dominated parliament remains at a standstill. Opposition lawmakers have already impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon. They accuse Han of being Yoon's "puppet" for vetoing opposition-led bills and refusing to appoint three constitutional judges to oversee Yoon's impeachment trial. Though currently overseen by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, the opposition has threatened to impeach him as well. Anger has swept the nation, with large crowds continuously taking to the streets calling for Yoon’s impeachment. However, Yoon’s supporters have also held their own protests.

Throughout the chaos, Yoon has displayed what his critics see as defiance, or what his supporters might see as determination. After his arrest, Yoon expressed his gratitude to his supporters. “Although these days are dark…the future of this country is full of hope,” he said. “I wish my fellow citizens all the best and to stay strong. Thank you.”