Who is President Yoon? The American Pie-crooning anti-communist whose martial law order sparked bedlam in South Korea
Despite Yoon cancelling his order just six hours after declaring martial law, the damage to his reputation was already done
PRESIDENT Yoon’s crumbling reputation could have taken a final blow after declaring martial law – and then cancelling it.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s alleged power grab on Tuesday came after his approval ratings dive bombed from various scandals throughout his term.
On Tuesday, democracy in Yoon’s South Korea crumbled temporarily within a mere few hours after he imposed martial law – allegedly in a desperate attempt to prevent his looming impeachment.
Yoon, 63, was once a world leader favourite who was not afraid to show his fun side despite his serious, strong stance on North Korea.
A clip of Yoon went viral after being captured belting American Pie into a microphone during a state dinner at the White House while standing next to President Joe Biden in April 2023.
But since then, various scandals and bizarre political choices have caused his approval ratings to plummet – now leading to a potential impeachment.
Yoon made his name investigating corruption scandals as a former prosecutor.
He handled high-profile cases in his time, even involving the former South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
In 2021 he transition over to politics and joined the conservative People Power Party which now sits as the second-largest party in the National Assembly.
The following year Yoon won the presidential election – narrowly defeating his opposition Lee Jae-myung by a mere 0.7 of percentage points.
The President, with his firm stance on North Korea, led him to be compared with the UK’s war hero Winston Churchill due to his firm approach to the spiralling tensions on the peninsula.
Holding this stance, Yoon attracted attention from other world leaders who too have been growing concerned about North Korea’s unpredictable moves and alliance with Russia.
But since ascending to power, Yoon has come under fire various times – including a scandal involving his wife Kim Keon Hee – who was accused of influence peddling.
The couple were both accused of improperly influencing the People Power Party’s candidate selection for the 2022 parliamentary by-election, which Yoon denied.
The scandal also exposed that the President and his wife had been under the influence of an unknown unelected power broker who – through Yoon – was exercising influence on party affairs.
As Yoon continued to deny, his approval rating dropped below a shocking 20 per cent.
And his Democratic Party opposition described his alleged involvement as “arrogant and self-righteous”.
Mrs Kim then appeared to turn Yoon’s presidency even more sour when she was caught on a hidden camera accepting a pricey Dior bag – painting her and her president husband as out of touch.
Yoon made this depiction even worse however earlier this year when he was visiting a food market and made a careless comment on food prices.
He pointed out how “reasonable” spring onions were priced, which were in fact subsidised.
One of the opposition leaders slammed Yoon at the time, saying: “The president is going to be brought down by a spring onion.”
After the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in South Korea‘s April general election, tainted by various scandals and policy choices, Yoon was no longer seen as the country’s Winston Churchill.
He has since been failing to pass bills that he hoped to get forward and reducing his power to try to veto bills that the opposition party looks to promote.
And in the penultimate blow to Yoon, the Democratic Party slashed the budget that his government and the ruling party had put forward this week.
What is martial law?
MARTIAL law is the temporary replacement of a civilian government with military rule – typically during war or major disasters.
Historically, it has been brought in after coups, during protests, to suppress political dissent or stabilise insurrections.
It involves the military taking control of the normal legal system and control of civilians.
Ordinary laws and civil liberties may be suspended under martial law.
It is a drastic measure with significant implications for individual freedoms and the rule of law.
While it’s meant to be temporary, martial law can be indefinite.
The opposition party was also wanting the impeachment of Yoon’s cabinet members including the head of government audit agency.
This is who they accused of failing to investigate Yoon’s wife.
But Yoon tried to desperately cling on – so much so he declared the imposition of martial law on Tuesday in what he called was an attempt to restore order.
There have been more than a dozen declarations of martial law since the foundation of the South Korean republic in 1948, the last in 1979-1980 following the assassination of former President Park Chung-hee.
This was slammed by MPs who rejected the move in a vote in parliament and called the military off – yet still unleashed six hours of political chaos in South Korea.
Yoon ordered soldiers to storm the National Assembly with elite special forces troops being flown by helicopter to the National Assembly.
Troops pushed their way through a crowd protesting Yoon’s decision outside the parliament and smashed windows and broke through doors to get past defences that had been built by civilians.
Officials built barricades at the parliament’s doors and sprayed the soldiers with fire extinguishers as lawmakers desperately pushed back against the alleged power grab.
His televised late-night declaration of martial law plunged one of Asia’s largest economies into crisis.
It also blemished the reputation of a US ally that transitioned from dictatorship to a democratic success story in the 1980s.
By the time Yoon rescinded martial law early Wednesday following the vote by the opposition, just six hours after declaring it, his political fortunes and grip on the country was already in tatters.
As the day wore on, many of Yoon’s allies deserted him and support grew across the political spectrum for his impeachment and removal from office.
South Korea’s defence minister has resigned after he was reportedly official to propose the move to Yoon.
He now faces an impeachment vote that the opposition is seeking to push through this week.
Meanwhile Kim Jong-un is rubbing his hands together with glee at South Korea’s martial law crisis, an expert claims.
Michael Madden, the director and founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said the turmoil was a “gift” for the tyrant.
Kim will now blast the chaos out to his citizens through the country’s propaganda network and claim his brutal rule is better than democracy.
Madden told The Sun: “What they do now is they say ‘Well this is a decadent, corrupt, capitalist culture… So why would you go there?’
“‘You might be hungry here but we have stability’.”
Madden said President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration was “almost a gift” to Kim and North Korean public affairs propaganda.
The crisis’ effect was to make autocratic Pyongyang look more politically stable than Seoul, he said.
That could also affect any diplomacy between the archenemies, as Kim could claim the south is not trustworthy.
