The political crisis in South Korea Premium

South Korean political crisis unfolds as President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment, revealing deep divides in the nation.

Nine days after coming to power, Democratic Party president Moon Jae-in appointed a new Chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on May 19, 2017. The new Chief was able to indict two former Presidents belonging to the main conservative party in South Korea — Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. Mr. Moon and his party were impressed and in June 2019, the protagonist was appointed the Prosecutor General of South Korea. The Prosecutor General was Yoon Suk Yeol, who later became the President of South Korea and is now a key figure in the current political crisis, having been impeached by the National Assembly on December 14, 2024.

Mr. Yoon was playing a key role in the Moon Jae-in administration, but it was announced on August 9, 2019, that Cho Guk would be the next Justice Minister. Mr. Cho had studied at the same university as Mr. Yoon, with Mr. Yoon being a few years his senior. After learning of Mr. Cho’s nomination, Mr. Yoon reportedly approached President Moon expressing his disapproval. Mr. Moon, however, appointed Mr. Cho on September 9, 2019.

Mr. Yoon used his Prosecutor office to reveal several corruption charges against Mr. Cho. Allegations against him included that he plagiarised his writings, that an institute run by his family evaded taxes, and his family invested in illicit business activities, his daughter submitted false documents related to academic achievements. His wife was charged and later sent to jail for four years. All this led to huge protests by conservative party supporters demanding Mr. Cho’s removal. Finally, he resigned after just 35 days in office.

The incident led to a contest between the Moon Jae-in administration and Mr. Yoon. Mr. Moon avoided taking any undemocratic means to remove Mr. Yoon from his post, but subsequent Justice Ministers under his administration tried to settle scores with Mr. Yoon. On November 24, 2020, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae suspended Mr. Yoon, accusing him of ethical violations and interference in key investigations. However, Mr. Yoon challenged the suspension in court and was reinstated.

Interestingly, Mr. Yoon, who was considered close to the Democratic Party and instrumental in the indictment of two conservative Presidents, became a hero among conservative party supporters.

In various opinion surveys, Mr. Yoon had the highest popularity among all the existing conservative leaders, and suggestions became strong that if he became the conservative party’s presidential candidate, he might be victorious. Conservative supporters were very hurt by two of their former Presidents in jail — one of them Ms. Park, who was the eldest daughter of Park Chung-hee whom the conservatives adore as a major Korean leader. The conservative supporters thought Mr. Yoon would be the right leader to teach Moon Jae-in and his peers in the Democratic Party a lesson.

Mr. Yoon grabbed this opportunity and resigned from the position of Prosecutor General on March 4, 2021, and announced his presidential candidacy in June 2021. He officially joined the conservative People Power Party (PPP) in July 2021. Despite making several political blunders, careless and controversial remarks, and lacking political experience, Mr. Yoon was selected as the PPP’s presidential candidate in November 2021. He had a difficult battle against the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung but defeated him in the March 2022 presidential elections by a margin of less than one percent.