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Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korea's president Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party was a political novice who shot to public attention as a prosecutor for his uncompromising investigations into some of the country's most high-profile corruption scandals. For over 26 years, he dedicated himself to combating corruption. Yoon played a key role in convicting former president Park Geun-hye for abuse of power. As the country's top prosecutor in 2019, he also indicted a top aide of outgoing President Moon Jae-in over fraud and bribery in a case that tarnished the administration's upstanding image. He was set to take the world's 10th-largest economy in a different foreign policy direction -- vowing to abandon years of delicate diplomacy and get tough on North Korea.

Yoon Suk-yeol was born in Seoul on December 18, 1960. Yoon was born in Seoul into what he called a middle class family. Both his parents were professors. While he did not find it easy to pass the bar exam but finally passed it after 9 attempts. Yoon went on to study at Seoul National University Law School and earned a Master's degree in law in 1988. Around the Gwangju Uprising in 1980, he and his college friends held a mock trial, where he played the role of a prosecutor and demanded life imprisonment for Chun Doo-hwan, who was ruling the country at the time as an unelected military dictator. It was an early display of the fierce independence and principled nature of his character. After passing the Bar exam in 1991, Yoon began his career as a prosecutor at the Daegu Public Prosecutors' Office in 1994. A case in 2013 put him in the public eye. Yoon led investigations into the National Intelligence Service over its involvement in a public opinion manipulation scandal during the 2012 presidential election. Despite opposition from his superiors, Yoon insisted on investigating going as far as accusing the Justice Minister of influencing his investigation.

"I have to keep going with my investigation, but there continues to be questions. If investigators feel it's not justifiable and unreasonable and excessive, then that's what they feel as "external pressure". Yoon was demoted for his disobedience. But this was when he became known as a "headstrong prosecutor" who doesn't give into power. He left his post with an iconic quote "I am not loyal to people."

Yoon made a dramatic return to Seoul perhaps thanks to that "headstrong" nature of his. He was appointed as the head of the special prosecutor team investigating the massive corruption scandal surrounding then-President Park Geun-hye which led to her impeachment. There was speculation that Yoon's involvement could be seen as political retaliation - related to his demotion. However Yoon denied this saying "using an investigation for retaliation was something a gangster would do, not a prosecutor."

Immediately after Moon Jae-in took office, Yoon was appointed as the head of the Seoul Supreme Prosecutors' Office. It was an unprecedented appointment with Yoon taking the role ahead of his superiors. In 2019, Yoon even became the Prosecutor General.

But Yoon's unbreakable will brought him the opposite result this time. His investigation of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's family prompted a feud with the government and the ruling Democratic Party. Things reached a peak following the appointment of former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae who ordered Yoon be temporarily suspended. Eventually, Yoon resigned as Prosecutor General leaving a few months before the end of his term.

"It's hard for me to watch our society's long-established common sense and justice collapse anymore. However, I will continue to do my best to protect liberal democracy and the people no matter where I am."

This brought Yoon to the attention of the conservative opposition People Power party, which began courting him. Due to the political tensions with the administration, Yoon resigned as Prosecutor General in March 2021. And his "common sense and fairness" was his key weapon in calling for people's support a reference to his final remarks on the day he resigned as Prosecutor General. Yoon announced his presidential bid in June 2021, about three months after stepping down as prosecutor general. This decision was primarily driven by his strong conviction that Korea needed to correct its course; this sentiment was also evident in opinion polls showing how the people desperately wanted Yoon to run for the Presidency. Following his resignation, Yoon immediately emerged as a presidential candidate. Yoon topped approval ratings for potential presidential candidates on the back of growing public disappointment with the government over skyrocketing housing prices. Just 117 days after his resignation, Yoon declared his presidential bid. He stood on the opposite side of the DP and joined the People Power Party.

Yoon had no political experience or any roots in the PPP. But he won the primary, defeating the runner up in the 2017 presidential election Hong Joon-pyo. In his acceptance speech, Yoon vowed for a change of government. "We must judge this tedious corrupt and incompetent government. We must replace this disgusting and hypocritical government." This was Yoon's core message throughout his campaign, as he presented himself as the ultimate anti-DP warrior.

Yoon became the conservatives' "icon" because he was "seen as the best person to beat the Democratic Party candidate, despite his lack of political leadership experience," Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford, told AFP. "That does not bode well for Korean democracy as we may expect further polarisation," he added.

South Korean politics is famously adversarial, where presidents serve just a single term of five years. Every living former leader has been jailed for corruption after leaving office. Despite his role in Park's ousting, Yoon fired up support among disgruntled conservative voters by offering a chance at "revenge" against Moon -- going so far as to threaten to investigate Moon for unspecified "irregularities".

Even Yoon's wife claimed his critics would be prosecuted if her husband won because that was "the nature of power", according to taped comments released after a court battle. This suggests "he and his spouse are more than willing to engage in retaliatory legal investigations into political opponents", Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP. The outgoing administration's last order of business was to pass a reform bill stripping prosecutors of some of their power, in a move widely seen as a bid by officials to avoid being targeted after leaving office.

There were times when his ratings briefly dipped due to his family scandals and internal problems within the party. But as the race came to its conclusion, he was running neck-and-neck with Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party.

And just 6 days before Election Day Yoon secured the extra push needed to win following a last minute campaign merger with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party. "For the future of South Korea and the United People's Government, we both make a promise. I support candidate Yoon Suk-yeol." "I support the will of candidate Ahn Cheol-Soo to create a United People's Government and to make it a success together."

The novice politician won his first presidential race just eight months after debuting in politics.

The 20th presidential election was the only one in history in which the winner was decided by a margin of less than 1 percent. A meager 0.73 percent -- 247,077 votes -- separated him and the runner-up Lee Jae-myung.Yoon Suk-yeol was officially sworn in as the 20th president of South Korea on May 10, 2022, kicking off his five-year term with the inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m. at the National Assembly in the nation's capital.

The new president began work at the former Defense Ministry headquarters building in Yongsan-gu, which he chose to be the new presidential office, marking an end of Cheong Wa Dae's 70+ year status as the presidential office and residence. Yoon will be commuting from his private home in southern Seoul to the new office every morning, while his choice of the new presidential residence -– formerly the official residence of the foreign minister –- undergoes renovations. Moving the office to Yongsan and opening the grounds of Cheong Wa Dae was one of the first projects pursued by Yoon's office, representing its will to communicate with the public more.

Yoon firmly believes in working closely with Korea's allies and partners and the need to uphold universal values such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Such conviction was what led to his eventual win in the hotly-contested party primary in November 2021.

But in August 2022 South Korea was the only country where U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not meet with a head of state or government. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sent his regrets, saying he was on vacation. A U.S. Embassy official told the local media that she was “very displeased� with the lack of welcome. Some suspected that Yoon was avoiding a meetig that would anger Beijing.

Yoon started work with 52% of people polled thinking he was doing a good job. By August 2022 Yoon's approval rating had cratered at 24 percent in the latest Gallup Korea poll. His predecessor, Moon Jae-in, enjoyed approval ratings of about 70% at the same stage in his term, polling data showed. During his presidential campaign, he promised ‘unity among all Koreans' and to always be open to the people's voices. He also pledged to cooperate with those across the aisle to achieve tangible progress that would benefit all Koreans. Yoon also strongly believed that Korea had a responsibility to the international community.

After winning a close election by the narrowest margin ever, he soon backed off his most controversial pledges on the campaign trail -- including abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality. But his lack of legislative experience could prove costly as he faces a Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly that will likely scrutinise his policies.

Local media reported that Yoon was particularly inspired by British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill. Despite his limited experience in politics, Yoon still managed to "consolidate support of a huge chunk of the country's elite", Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP.

On nuclear-armed North Korea, Yoon threatened a pre-emptive strike if needed, a claim some analysts said was wildly unrealistic. In April 2022, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would take measures to develop "the nuclear forces of our state at the fastest possible speed", in what analysts said was a response to Yoon's hawkish stance. Yoon also once said he wants to buy an additional THAAD US missile system to counter the North, despite risks that it could prompt new economic retaliation from China, South Korea's biggest trade partner.

His "lack of political skill will spill over to the foreign policy realm", Minseon Ku, a political science scholar at the Ohio State University, told AFP. Yoon's camp "looked as though they were simply copying and pasting foreign policy phrases from the US Republican presidents' speeches," she added.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly, Yoon Suk Yeol on 20 September 2022 underscored that, due to attempts to alter the status quo by force and nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the global community was once again witnessing its citizens' freedom and peace being put into jeopardy. Such threats must be overcome through solidarity and commitment to the framework of universal global norms consolidated over the years within the United Nations system.

He made a string of gaffes on the campaign trail, from praising one of the country's former dictators to belittling manual labour and Africans. "The next presidency was coming at a time of transition for the world," especially following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Karl Friedhoff of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs told AFP. "That will mean making tough challenges about trade-offs that South Korea hasn't had to make in the past. Is Yoon up to that task?"

Yoon Suk Yeol was caught on camera 22 September 2022 insulting American lawmakers briefly after meeting President Joe Biden. The duo had a discussion on multiple issues including US electric vehicle subsidies that South Korea wants to change. Yoon Suk Yeol was heard calling U.S. lawmakers “idiots,� saying it would be "humiliating" for President Joe Biden if they do not approve global health funding. "How could Biden not lose damn face if these f****rs do not pass it in Congress?" Yoon was caught saying to his aides afterwards in video that went viral in South Korea.

North Korea will face “a determined and overwhelming response� from South Korea and the United States if it attempts to use nuclear weapons, Yoon Suk Yeol said September 30, 2022. Speaking at the nation's 74th Armed Forces Day ceremony, Yoon called North Korea's recent law declaring itself a “nuclear weapons state� a threat to the survival and prosperity of South Korea and reiterated calls for Kim Jong Un to denuclearize.

Yoon Suk-yeol held a meeting with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Seoul 29 September 2022. In the opening speech, he said South Korea-U.S. alliance was expanding to one focused on economy and technology from that centered on military cooperation. In response, Harris said her visit was to further strengthen the two countries' power and consolidate joint efforts. The two leaders then discussed North Korea, its continuing provocations and regional security. The meeting also dealt with Seoul' concerns over economic repercussions from the U.S.' inflation reduction act.

Yoon has four dogs and three cats, owning more pets than any other of his predecessors. With a penchant for shamanism, his wife Kim Kun-hee was an art curator who runs a cultural contents company. The couple had no children.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating fell to 20% in a weekly tracking poll 13 September 2024, its lowest level since he took office in 2022, on concerns over strains to the medical system from thousands of doctors remaining on strike to protest the government’s reform plans.