Yoon Suk Yeol

Yoon Suk Yeol (, born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former public prosecutor. Yoon was the  13th President of South Korea from 2022 to 2025. He was Prosecutor General of South Korea from 2019 to 2021. As the chief prosecutor of South Korea, Yoon was important in finding former President Park Geun-hye guilty for abuse of power.

In December 2024, Yoon declared declared martial law in the country, however it was quickly reversed by the National Assembly. He was then impeached on 7 December, however stayed in office after the vote was not successful. Yoon was then successfully impeached on 14 December 2024, with his presidential duties suspended. He was officially removed from office on 4 April 2025 after the Constitutional Court of Korea upheld his impeachment. In January 2026, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison in martial law case. The following month, he was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of leading the insurrection.

Early life
Yoon was born and raised in Seoul.  In 1979, he graduated from Chungam High School in Seoul. In 1983, he graduated from Seoul National University with an undergraduate degree in law.  He then did graduate work at the same university, earning a master's degree from the School of Law in 1988.  He was admitted to the bar in 1991.

Professional career
From 1994 through 2001, he worked at district prosecutors offices in Daegu, Seoul and Busan. 

In 2008, Yoon became the  head prosecutor of Nonsan branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors Office.  From 2009 through 2011, he worked in the Supreme Prosecutor's Office.

In 2013, he rose to head prosecutor of the Yeoju branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor's Office, where he led a special investigation of an opinion- rigging case involving the National Intelligence Service.

In the years 2014 to 2016, he worked at the high prosecutor's offices in Daegu and Daejeon.

In 2016, he led the special probe on the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, which eventually led to her impeachment. In 2017, he became the head of the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office.

In 2019, he became Prosecutor General of the nation. He resigned that post in March 2021.

Presidency (2022–2025)
Yoon was the nominee for the  conservative People Power Party for president in the 2022 election. He defeated Lee Jae-myung by a small amount of votes and was elected president on 9 March 2022.Breaking | South Korea election: Yoon Suk-yeol wins mandate to tackle inequality, US-China relations and Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions

On 20 March 2022, he announced that he would make his presidential office in the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan District, Seoul, instead of the Blue House, which opened as a public park on 10 May 2022.S. Korea's next leader to abandon Blue House for new office - SFG(30 March 2022) In his inauguration he said he would support talks with North Korea, however called them a threat because of recent missile testing activity.South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk Yeol urges North Korean denuclearization in inauguration address

In late July 2022, Yoon said he wanted to create a "police bureau" so that his government can have better control over police in the country. Many police officers and chiefs did not support this and protested the decision, with Yoon threatening to fire them and put them in jail.

Yoon's approval rating dropped to less than 30 percent in July 2022, after three months in office, because of the country's rising inflation.

In December 2024, Yoon declared martial law during a late night address, accusing the country’s main opposition Democratic Party of supporting North Korea and "anti-state activities". It is the first time that martial law has been declared since the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan in 1980. The National Assembly passed a resolution that ended the decree and shortly afterwards entered a motion to start impeachment proceedings against Yoon. On 7 December, Yoon survived the impeachment vote by five votes, however members of his party called on him to resign. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon stated that Yoon promised to resign nonetheless. On 14 December, a second impeachment motion filed against him passed in the National Assembly after 204 lawmakers, including 12 from the PPP, voted in favor. His powers and duties were suspended pending a final decision by the Constitutional Court of Korea.

On 31 December, the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon with charges relating to abuse of power, and orchestrating the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis. At first, Yoon hid in the presidential residence, where hundreds of his supporters have gathered and fought with police and critics of Yoon. On 3 January, authorities tried to arrest Yoon at the presidential compound, but were unable to after being physically blocked by the Presidential Security Service. After the warrant expired on 6 January, the Seoul Western District Court extended the warrant the next day. Yoon was arrested on 15 January 2025.

On 4 April 2025, an eight-judge Constitutional Court supported Yoon's impeachment, formally removing him from office. This made him the shortest-serving president in South Korea's democratic history.

Trial
On 13 January 2026, the prosecution wanted Yoon to be given the death penalty for his role in the coup. On 16 January, Yoon was convicted in a related trial and sentenced to five years' imprisonment on charges of abuse of power, obstruction of justice and falsification of documents.

On 19 February 2026, he was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of leading the insurrection.

Personal life
Yoon married Kim Keon-hee in 2012.

Notes

References

Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Presidents of South Korea
Category:South Korean lawyers
Category:Politicians from Seoul
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