Yoon Suk-yeol
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Yoon Suk-yeol
윤석열
尹錫悅
President-elect of South Korea
Assuming office
May 10, 2022
Succeeding Moon Jae-in
Prosecutor General of South Korea
In office
July 25, 2019 – March 4, 2021
President Moon Jae-in
Preceded by Moon Moo-il
Succeeded by Cho Nam-kwan (Acting)
Personal details
Born December 18, 1960 (age 61)
Seoul, South Korea
Political party People Power (since 2021)
Kim Kun-hee
Spouse(s)
(m. 2012)
Education Seoul National University (LLB, LLM)
Occupation Politician
Profession Lawyer
Signature
Korean name
Hangul 윤석열
Hanja 尹錫悅
Revised Romanization Yun Seok-yeol
McCune–Reischauer Yun Sŏkyŏl
IPA [jun sʰʌ̹k.jʌ̹
̚ ɭ]
Yoon Suk-yeol (also known as Yun Seok-Yeol) (Korean: 윤석열; Hanja: 尹錫悅; born
December 18, 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer
who is the president-elect of South Korea. Yoon served as prosecutor general of South
Korea between 2019 and 2021 under President Moon Jae-in.[1]
Born in Seoul, he attended Seoul National University. In his capacity as the chief
prosecutor of South Korea, Yoon played a key role in convicting former president Park
Geun-hye for abuse of power.[1][2] A member of the conservative People Power Party,
Yoon narrowly defeated Democratic Party's nominee Lee Jae-myung in the 2022 South
Korean presidential election, and is scheduled to assume office as president on May 10,
2022.
Contents
1Early life and education
2Prosecutorial career
o 2.1Early career
o 2.2Prosecutor general
2.2.1Suspension, reinstatement, and resignation
32022 presidential election
4Political positions
5Personal life
6References
7External links
Early life and education[edit]
Yoon was born in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun District, Seoul in 1960.[3][4] Some have
suggested that he was from Honam, but it was reported as a rumor.[3][5] His father, Yoon
Ki-joong was born in Nonsan[6] and is a retired educator graduated from Yonsei
University and Hitotsubashi University who later established the Korean Statistical
Society and is now a full member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic
of Korea.[3] His mother was born in Gangneung and was a lecturer at Ewha Womans
University before leaving the position after getting married. [3]
Yoon attended Choongam High School[5] and studied law at Seoul National University.[3][7]
[8]
He is a colleague of Moon Kang-bae, a lawyer who described Yoon as an "extrovert
and faithful" person.[3] Shortly after the Gwangju Uprising, Yoon and his colleagues held
a mock trial, where he acted as a prosecutor, demanding the death penalty for Chun
Doo-hwan, the president of the republic.[3][7] Following the mock trial, Yoon escaped
to Gangwon Province.[3][7]
Yoon was exempted in 1982 from national service due to anisometropia.[9] Yoon later
added that he was unable to obtain a driving licence because of the condition.[9]
Yoon passed the first part of the bar exam in Year 4 of university but failed the second. [3]
[7]
He kept failing for the next nine years. The reasons for his failed attempts are not
clear, but the main cause is widely regarded to be the mock trial he held against Chun
Doo-hwan.[3] He finally passed the bar in 1991,[3][5][7][8][4] in the same graduating class
as Democratic Party assemblyman and minister of justice Park Beom-kye.[3]
Prosecutorial career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Yoon started his career at Daegu Public Prosecutor's Office in 1994. [3][5][7][8][4] He headed
the Special Branch and Central Investigation Department, both of which investigate
corruption-related cases.[3] In 1999, he arrested Assistant Commissioner Park Hui-won,
who was involved in a corruption[10][4] in spite of strong objections from bureaucrats in the
Kim Dae-jung cabinet.[3]
In January 2002, Yoon worked briefly as a lawyer at Bae, Kim & Lee but left as he felt
that he was not suited to the position. [4] Upon his return as a prosecutor, he prosecuted
such pro-Roh Moo-hyun figures as Ahn Hee-jung and Kang Keum-won.[3] In 2006, he
apprehended Chung Mong-koo for his complicity in a slush fund case at Hyundai Motor
Company.[3][4] In 2008, he worked for the independent counsel team resolving the BBK
incident related to President Lee Myung-bak.[3]
In 2013, Yoon led a special investigation team that looked into the National Intelligence
Service (NIS)'s involvement in the 2012 NIS public opinion manipulation scandal. Yoon
sought the prosecution of the former head of the NIS, Won Sei-hoon for violating the
Public Official Election Act. He accused Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn of influencing
his investigation.[11] As a result, he was demoted from the Seoul prosecutors' office to the
Daegu and Daejeon High Prosecutors' Office. [12][11]
Yoon later became head of investigations in the special prosecutor team of Park Young-
soo, which investigated allegations pertaining to the 2016 Choi Soon-sil
scandal involving Choi, Samsung vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong and then-president Park
Geun-hye, which led to the impeachment of the president in December 2016.[12]
On May 19, 2017, the newly-elected president Moon Jae-in appointed Yoon as chief of
the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.[8] The prosecution indicted two former
presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, three former NIS chiefs, former chief
justice Yang Sung-tae and more than 100 other former officials and business executives
under his tenure.[13] Yoon also led an investigation into accounting fraud at Samsung.[11]
Prosecutor general[edit]
Yoon in 2019
On June 17, 2019, Yoon was nominated as prosecutor general, replacing Moon Moo-il.[7]
[4]
His nomination was welcomed by the ruling Democratic Party and the Party for
Democracy and Peace, but was opposed by the Liberty Korea Party and
the Bareunmirae Party.[14] The minor party Justice Party remained neutral.[14] On July 16,
he was officially appointed as the new prosecutor general [15] and started his term nine
days later.[16] President Moon ordered him to be neutral, adding that any kind of
corruptions must be strictly investigated though it is related to the government. [16]
Yoon has not led investigations against Minister of Justice Cho Kuk,[17] who was involved
in various scandals. His decision to prosecute was welcomed by the opposition but was
condemned by the Democratic Party and its supporters. [17][18][19]
After Choo Mi-ae was appointed the new minister of justice, she took an action against
several prosecutors close to Yoon.[20][21] Choo attributed her decision to Yoon's failure to
submit a reorganization plan for his department, which she requested, but this was seen
as retaliation by the Blue House for Cho Kuk's prosecution. [22]
In April 2020, Democratic Party lawmakers again attacked Yoon and called on him to
resign as the prosecution started investigations into election law violation cases
involving both ruling and opposition politicians and also suspected election rigging of the
Ulsan mayoral race for Mayor Song Cheol-ho in 2018 by senior secretaries at the Blue
House.[23][24][25]
Suspension, reinstatement, and resignation[edit]
On November 24, 2020, Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae suspended Yoon from his
position, citing alleged ethical violations, abuse of power, and interference into
investigations of his associates and family members. [26] Yoon filed an injunction against
the minister's suspension order, which was approved by the Seoul Administrative Court
on December 1, temporarily halting the suspension. [27][28] On December 16, the Ministry of
Justice then imposed a two-month suspension on Yoon, accepting four of six major
charges for disciplinary action. The decision was subsequently approved by President
Moon.[29] However on December 24, following an injunction filed at the Seoul
Administrative Court, the suspension was overturned as the court accepted Yoon's
claim that the process to suspend him was unfair. [30]
On March 4, 2021, Yoon tendered his resignation, which was accepted by President
Moon.[31]
2022 presidential election[edit]
Yoon had been considered a potential presidential candidate for the 2022 presidential
election since the aftermath of the Cho Kuk scandal, appearing as a significant
candidate in general election opinion polls since at least January 2020. [32][33] In a January
2021 poll including all possible presidential candidates, Yoon led as the most favored
with 30.4 percent of the vote, more than the individual supports for the ruling
Democratic Party frontrunners Lee Jae-myung and Lee Nak-yon.[34]
On June 29, 2021, Yoon officially announced his candidacy in the 2022 presidential
election.[35] On July 12, he registered with the National Election Commission as
an independent candidate.[36]
Yoon Suk-yeol leaving the People Power Party (PPP) headquarters shortly after joining the party on July
30, 2021
On July 30, 2021, Yoon officially joined the conservative People Power Party, which is
currently the main opposition party in South Korea. [36] Prior to this Yoon had been a
political independent, although his popular support came primarily from conservatives.
Yoon was welcomed into the PPP by Choi Jae-hyung, a fellow 2022 presidential
candidate, in a small public ceremony at the PPP headquarters located
in Yeouido, Seoul. Choi was the former head of the Board of Audit and Inspection and
had also just recently joined the PPP, officially having become a member on July 15.
Yoon's welcoming ceremony into the People Power Party notably did not include
recently elected party leader Lee Jun-seok, who had been outside of Seoul at the time.
[36]
During the primary election period, Yoon came under criticism for several
perceived gaffes and controversial statements. In July, Yoon advocated for a 120-
hour work week while critiquing President Moon's policy of the 52-hour maximum work
week.[37] Yoon advocated deregulating food safety standards because, in his opinion,
"poor people should be allowed to eat substandard food for lower prices", citing
economist Milton Friedman's 1980 book Free to Choose: A Personal Statement as the
inspiration for the idea.[38][39] In August, Yoon stated that South Korea's recent feminist
movement was a significant contributing factor to the issue of the nation's low birth
rates.[38] Later that same week, Yoon claimed during an interview with Busan Ilbo that
there was "basically no radiation leak" from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster because "the reactors themselves didn't collapse." [40]
On September 2, 2021, news website Newsverse reported that during his time as
prosecutor general, Yoon had allegedly ordered a senior prosecutor and a politician to
file politically motivated criminal complaints against Democratic Party politicians ahead
of the 2020 legislative elections in an attempt to sway the elections. The article alleged
that Yoon ordered senior prosecutor Son Jun-sung to file criminal complaints against
opposing Democratic Party candidates and ordered PPP National Assembly
member Kim Woong to file criminal complaints against Democratic Party politicians and
journalists friendly with the party ahead of the 2020 elections. [41][42] In response to the
allegations, an internal investigatory probe was launched by the Supreme Prosecutor's
Office, and an investigation was launched by the recently formed Corruption
Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).[41][43] Yoon denied the allegations
and, in response to the allegations and probe, reported informant Cho Sung-eun and
Director of the National Intellience Service Park Jie-won to the CIO.[42] Shortly after the
allegations were published, support for PPP primary contender Hong Joon-pyo, who
had been the nominee for PPP predecessor Liberty Korea Party in the 2017 presidential
election, rose sharply in polls, making Hong the most significant contender to Yoon
since the beginning of the campaign cycle. A September 6 poll of contenders across all
parties showed support for Hong at 13.6%, up from 4.2% a week earlier, behind Yoon
who had support at 26.4%.[44]
Yoon with Chung Jin-suk in November 2021
During an October 1 primary debate amongst all qualified PPP presidential candidates,
Yoon appeared to have the hanja character for "king" written on his left palm, a talisman
for good luck often inscribed on the advice of shamans.[45][46][47] Soon afterwards it was
widely reported that Yoon also had the mark on his hand during the previous two
primary debates. Yoon's primary opponents, including Hong Joon-pyo and Yoo Seong-
min, criticized Yoon for using shamanist practices and made unflattering comparisons to
the Choi Soon-sil scandal in which President Park Geun-hye allowed a shaman to have
undue influence over her executive decisions. [46] In response to the criticism, Yoon
stated that "a supporter drew that as a message of support, encouraging me to be
confident like a 'king' during the debate", and that he had forgotten to wash the mark off.
[48]
In October, Yoon made complimentary remarks about former far-right military dictator of
South Korea Chun Doo-hwan. The remarks came during a meeting with People Power
Party officials in Busan, during which Yoon said that "many people still consider Chun
as having done well in politics, except the military coup and the Gwangju Uprising", later
adding that he believed even people in Honam, the geographic area including Gwangju,
felt the same way.[49] Chun Doo-hwan, a widely maligned figure in South Korea, was
responsible for numerous human rights abuses, including the torture and killings of
innocent civilians. Yoon apologized for these remarks. [50] However, shortly after his
apology Yoon posted a picture on his Instagram account in which he fed an apple to his
dog; as the words for "apple" and "apology" are homographs in Korean ("사과"), this
was interpreted as a mocking statement on his own previous apology. [51] The remarks
about Chun, as well as the Instagram post, were criticized by all three of the remaining
candidates in the People Power Party primaries. [51] Yoon again apologized for his
remarks when he visited the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju on November 10,
although his visit was met by protesters.[52][53]
On November 5, 2021, Yoon officially won the nomination of the People Power Party for
the 2022 presidential election.[54][55] The win came after Yoon fought off a surge in support
for rival candidate Hong Joon-pyo in the latter weeks of the primary. The nomination
resulted from a four-day period of voting by party members and the general public.
Yoon Suk-yeol won 47.85% of the votes, a total of 347,963 votes, and of the remaining
candidates Hong Joon-pyo won 41.50% of the votes, Yoo Seong-min won 7.47% of the
votes, and Won Hee-ryong won 3.17% of the votes.[56]
Yoon narrowly won the 2022 presidential election that took place on March 9, 2022.
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung conceded defeat in the early hours of the
following day.[57][58][59]
Political positions[edit]
Yoon Suk-yeol (left) with PPP party leader Lee Jun-seok (right)
Yoon identifies himself as "conservative".[60] Chung Doo-un, a former
conservative member of parliament, has considered Yoon a conservative.[61] Political
commentator Chin Jung-kwon, who supports Yoon, called his political inclination
"libertarianism".[62][63]
Critics of Yoon have described him as a right-wing populist. Sim Sang-jung, 2017 and
2022 presidential candidate of the centre-left Justice Party, has described the PPP led
by Yoon as "far-right populism".[64] Kim Dong-yeon, a former finance
minister and independent 2022 presidential candidate who models himself
on centrist French president Emmanuel Macron, has also described Yoon as "populist".
[65][66]
Yoon rejects the populist label, and has called his main opponent in the 2022
election, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, a "populist".[67]
Yoon opposes economic interventionism by the government. He has cited
economist Milton Friedman and Friedman's 1980 book Free to Choose: A Personal
Statement as a major influence on his belief in economic liberalism.[68]
On September 22, 2021, Yoon stated that he will ask that the United States
redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea if there is a threat from North Korea.
[69]
Nuclear weapons have not been deployed by the US in South Korea since the early
1990s, after an agreement with Russia and in an effort to ease tensions between North
and South Korea.[70] Speaking for the United States, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Japan and Korea Mark Lambert rejected Yoon's call for the re-nuclearization of
South Korea and said the proposal was against U.S. policy. [70] Zhao
Lijian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China,
called Yoon's statement "irresponsible".[71]
On November 7, 2021, Yoon stated that if elected president he would pardon former
presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, both of whom were serving lengthy
prison sentences for corruption (Park Geun-hye was later pardoned by President Moon
Jae-in on December 24 of that same year).[72][73]
On November 12, 2021, Yoon indicated that he would be open to more
US THAAD missile deployments in South Korea.[74]
On November 30, 2021, Yoon said he would abolish the 52-hour workweek and
the minimum wage if he became president.[75]
On January 7, 2022, he wrote on his Facebook page, "Abolish the Ministry of Women
and Family". The post received a good response from idaenam, while feminist
organizations criticized it as "hate politics".[76][77] He has been labelled as an avowed "anti-
feminist" and claimed that South Korean women do not suffer systemic discrimination,
despite what The Guardian described as "voluminous evidence to the contrary". [78]
