San Francisco Frontiers - South Korea's Yoon: from rising star to jailed ex-president

A self-styled anti-corruption crusader, Yoon rose from star prosecutor to South Korean president in just a few years.

But he would sow the seeds of his downfall on December 3, 2024, when he abruptly declared martial law to root out "anti-state forces" corrupting the nation.

The hardline conservative was later impeached, arrested and charged with a litany of crimes ranging from insurrection to obstruction of justice.

A panel of judges at Seoul Central District Court completed Yoon's humiliation on Thursday, sentencing the 65-year-old to life in prison after finding him guilty of insurrection.

Born in Seoul in 1960, months before a military coup, Yoon studied law and went on to become a public prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader.

He played an instrumental role in Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president, being impeached in 2016 and later convicted for abuse of power and imprisoned.

As the country's top prosecutor in 2019, he also indicted a senior aide of Park's successor, Moon Jae-in, in a fraud and bribery case.

The conservative People Power Party, in opposition at the time, liked what they saw and convinced Yoon to become their presidential candidate.

He won in March 2022, beating Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, but by the narrowest margin in South Korean history.

- Scandal-plagued -

Yoon was never much loved by the public, and scandals came thick and fast.

They included his administration's handling of a 2022 crowd crush during Halloween festivities that killed more than 150 people.

Voters also blamed Yoon's administration for inflation, a lagging economy, and increasing constraints on freedom of speech.

He was accused of abusing presidential vetoes, notably to strike down a bill paving the way for a special investigation into alleged stock manipulation by his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Yoon's reputation was further hit in 2023 when his wife was secretly filmed accepting a designer handbag worth $2,000 as a gift.

Yoon insisted it would have been rude to refuse.

His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, was sentenced to one year in prison for forging financial documents in a real estate deal.

She was released in May 2024.

- American Pie -

As president, Yoon maintained a tough stance against nuclear-armed North Korea and bolstered ties with Seoul's traditional ally, the United States.

In 2023, he sang Don McLean's "American Pie" at the White House, prompting US President Joe Biden to respond: "I had no damn idea you could sing."

But his efforts to restore ties with South Korea's former colonial ruler, Japan, did not sit well with many at home.

Yoon had been a lame duck president since the opposition Democratic Party won a majority in parliamentary elections in April 2024.

In his televised address declaring martial law, Yoon railed against "anti-state elements plundering people's freedom and happiness", and his office subsequently cast the move as a bid to break legislative gridlock.

Since then, he has garnered support from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers.

T.Rivera--SFF