Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s first prosecutor-turned-president, was impeached on April 4, ending his presidency after 1,060 days—just under three years in office. With 111 of those days spent suspended from office after lawmakers passed a motion to impeach him, Yoon effectively served only half of his five-year term.
Throughout his presidency, Yoon constantly clashed with the opposition-controlled National Assembly. His vows to uphold “freedom” and “fairness” were often met with resistance. A breakdown in dialogue and a series of impeachment motions by the opposition deepened political rifts, which Yoon claims ultimately led to his abrupt martial law declaration on Dec. 3.
Yoon first rose to public prominence on Oct. 21, 2013, during a parliamentary audit, when he famously declared, “I am not loyal to any person,” implying that he was loyal to the prosecution, not a particular individual. At the time, he led a team of prosecutors investigating the National Intelligence Service online comment scandal and disclosed he had faced external pressure during the probe.
His political ascent began in July 2019, when then-President Moon Jae-in appointed him prosecutor general. Moon instructed Yoon to “investigate those in power,” and Yoon did not hesitate. Just two months into his post, Yoon launched an investigation into alleged corruption involving the family of then-Justice Minister Cho Kuk. Yoon later widened the scope of investigations to include allegations that the Moon administration had interfered in the 2018 Ulsan mayoral election. These probes put Yoon at odds with the Moon administration and made him a symbol of the anti-Moon political movement.
Yoon officially entered politics in March 2021 after resigning from his position as prosecutor general four months before his term ended. He officially declared his presidential bid on June 29 of that year and joined the conservative People Power Party a month later. On November 5, 2021, he secured the party’s nomination and was elected South Korea’s 20th president on March 9, 2022. He was inaugurated on May 10 of that year.
Upon taking office, Yoon relocated the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan, symbolizing a break from past administrations. He scrapped Moon’s income-led growth policies in favor of free-market principles.
But the Yoon administration struggled from the outset in a divided National Assembly where the opposition held the majority. Although Yoon pledged to cooperate with the opposition, his administration faced persistent gridlock. The situation deteriorated further after the ruling party’s defeat in last year’s general election.
The opposition pushed through a series of bills without bipartisan support, and Yoon resorted to vetoes. Before his impeachment, he had vetoed 25 bills in total, including a bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate his wife, Kim Keon-hee. The opposition’s relentless attacks on the First Lady and the emotionally charged exchanges that followed further hindered any possibility of bipartisan cooperation.
Internal rifts within the ruling bloc also plagued Yoon’s presidency. His fallout with Han Dong-hoon, the former leader of the People Power Party and once Yoon’s closest ally since their prosecutor days. Their relationship soured over controversies involving First Lady Kim, and tensions reached a boiling point after Yoon’s martial law declaration when pro-Han lawmakers joined the opposition in supporting Yoon’s impeachment.
Yoon also had a fraught relationship with Lee Jun-seok, the former leader of the New Reform Party and a key figure during his presidential campaign. The two clashed early in Yoon’s term, and Yoon’s approval rating plunged to 28% within three months, according to a poll by Gallup Korea.
“It was a great honor to serve the people and the Republic of Korea,” Yoon said in a statement after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment in a ruling announced on April 4. “I deeply regret and am truly sorry that I did not live up to expectations.”
