Latest news with #YookSukYeol
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
He survived an assassination attempt. Now South Korea's new president has to lead a divided nation and tread cautiously with Trump
At age 14 he was an impoverished factory worker. On Wednesday, he became the leader of one of Asia's most powerful economies, a US ally and cultural juggernaut. But after sweeping to a decisive victory over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on Tuesday, Lee Jae-myung faces a daunting task. South Korea remains deeply divided, Lee's predecessor having declared martial law in a short-lived power grab in December, leaving many voters anxious about the state of their democracy. Six months of ensuing political turmoil entrenched existing rifts, with protests – both for and against former President Yook Suk Yeol and his People Power Party – filling the streets of the capital Seoul. Choppy international conditions have compounded domestic uncertainty. US President Donald Trump's global tariffs have hit South Korea's trade-reliant economy hard, with no permanent leader at the helm to steer negotiations with Washington. Lee's election – after a revolving door of interim leaders over the past half-year – might finally offer the country some much-needed stability, said Cho Hee-kyoung, a law professor at Hongik University in Seoul. 'We didn't even have someone who could engage with Trump on the tariff war, and for an export-driven economy, that's a serious problem,' Cho said. And, she added, the election – which saw the highest voter turnout since 1997 – represented a stinging public rebuke to the People Power Party. 'For many people, I think this election was about holding those responsible for bringing chaos to the country accountable,' she said. But it remains to be seen whether Lee, 60, will be able to heal the political divides – especially as he comes with his own baggage, caught up in various legal challenges, facing allegations of corruption and abuse of power. It's not clear what will happen to his ongoing criminal trials; sitting presidents are normally immune from prosecution, but there's disagreement on whether that applies to cases that begin before they take office. At his inauguration on Wednesday, however, Lee sought to cast himself as a bringer of unity and a fresh start to the nation of more than 50 million people. 'It is time to replace hatred and confrontation with coexistence, reconciliation, and solidarity – to open an era of national happiness, of dreams and hope,' he said in a speech. 'I will answer the earnest call to build a completely new nation.' Lee's spectacular rise is well documented. Born in the mid-1960s, he was the fifth of seven children in a poor family from Andong, a riverside city southeast of Seoul. His father worked as a market cleaner while his mother was a fee collector at public bathrooms, according to his office and biographies that include excerpts from Lee's own diaries. With civil war-ravaged South Korea in the early throes of a rapid industrialization that would transform it into a manufacturing powerhouse, Lee began working in factories as a teenager – from jewelry plants to refrigerator assembly lines. While working at a factory making baseball gloves, he permanently injured his left arm. In his diary, Lee would write about his envy of students he saw wearing school uniforms and those who had enough to eat. Despite his humble beginnings, he eventually passed his school exams and earned a full scholarship to study law at Chung-Ang University, one of Seoul's top private universities. From there, Lee became a human rights lawyer, eventually entering politics in 2010 as the mayor of Seongnam city, just outside Seoul, representing the liberal Democratic Party. That led to another, more significant, stint from 2018 as governor of Gyeonggi province, the country's most populous, which surrounds the capital. By then, he was eyeing the presidency – and left the governorship to run in the 2022 election, losing to Yoon by less than one percentage point. Lee became a lawmaker after that, surviving an assassination attempt in January 2024 when a man stabbed him in the neck during a public event in the southern city of Busan, in what his party denounced as an 'act of political terror.' Later that year came Yoon's ill-fated power grab. Lee again made headlines as one of the lawmakers who rushed to the legislature and pushed past soldiers to hold an emergency vote to lift martial law. He livestreamed himself jumping a fence to enter the building, in a viral video viewed tens of millions of times. Despite his growing popularity, Lee has been viewed with suspicion by many opponents because of his criminal trials – including over alleged bribery and charges related to a property development scandal. Separately, he was convicted of violating election law by knowingly making a false statement during a debate in the 2022 presidential campaign. The case has been sent to an appeals court. Lee denies all the charges against him. Speaking to CNN in December, he claimed he had been indicted on various charges 'without any evidence or basis,' and that the allegations are politically motivated. Yoon's martial law decree had been in part fueled by his frustration over a months-long political stalemate, with Lee's Democratic Party blocking the president from moving forward with many of his campaign promises and policies. Now, the Democratic Party controls both the parliament and the presidency – which could see 'a return to normal politics,' said Celeste Arrington, Korea Foundation associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University in the US capital. 'It might be easier to push through policies than it had been under impeached President Yoon,' she added. And Lee has a lot to do, right away – including addressing a sluggish economy and getting involved in the US-South Korea trade talks. 'I will immediately activate an emergency economic response task force team to restore people's livelihood and revive the economy,' he said during his inauguration speech on Wednesday. He added that he would 'turn the global economic and security crisis into an opportunity to maximize our national interest,' and strengthen trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan. Arrington added that Lee clearly sees the US-South Korea alliance as the 'backbone' of the country's national security – but he will have to balance that against relations with China. The US rival is also South Korea's largest trading partner. Yoon took a famously hard line on North Korea, and relations have plummeted. In contrast, Lee hails from a political party that has historically taken a more conciliatory approach to South Korea's autocratic neighbor. Lee reiterated the long-standing goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to 'respond firmly to North Korea's nuclear threats while also keeping communication channels open.' But above all, Lee emphasized the importance of rebuilding public trust, badly damaged by the martial law crisis – and punishing those responsible. 'I will rebuild everything that was destroyed by the insurrection and create a society that continues to grow and develop,' he said on Wednesday. 'An insurrection that uses the military's power, to seize the people's sovereignty, must never happen again.' CNN's Lauren Kent contributed reporting.
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
He survived an assassination attempt. Now South Korea's new president has to lead a divided nation and tread cautiously with Trump
At age 14 he was an impoverished factory worker. On Wednesday, he became the leader of one of Asia's most powerful economies, a US ally and cultural juggernaut. But after sweeping to a decisive victory over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on Tuesday, Lee Jae-myung faces a daunting task. South Korea remains deeply divided, Lee's predecessor having declared martial law in a short-lived power grab in December, leaving many voters anxious about the state of their democracy. Six months of ensuing political turmoil entrenched existing rifts, with protests – both for and against former President Yook Suk Yeol and his People Power Party – filling the streets of the capital Seoul. Choppy international conditions have compounded domestic uncertainty. US President Donald Trump's global tariffs have hit South Korea's trade-reliant economy hard, with no permanent leader at the helm to steer negotiations with Washington. Lee's election – after a revolving door of interim leaders over the past half-year – might finally offer the country some much-needed stability, said Cho Hee-kyoung, a law professor at Hongik University in Seoul. 'We didn't even have someone who could engage with Trump on the tariff war, and for an export-driven economy, that's a serious problem,' Cho said. And, she added, the election – which saw the highest voter turnout since 1997 – represented a stinging public rebuke to the People Power Party. 'For many people, I think this election was about holding those responsible for bringing chaos to the country accountable,' she said. But it remains to be seen whether Lee, 60, will be able to heal the political divides – especially as he comes with his own baggage, caught up in various legal challenges, facing allegations of corruption and abuse of power. It's not clear what will happen to his ongoing criminal trials; sitting presidents are normally immune from prosecution, but there's disagreement on whether that applies to cases that begin before they take office. At his inauguration on Wednesday, however, Lee sought to cast himself as a bringer of unity and a fresh start to the nation of more than 50 million people. 'It is time to replace hatred and confrontation with coexistence, reconciliation, and solidarity – to open an era of national happiness, of dreams and hope,' he said in a speech. 'I will answer the earnest call to build a completely new nation.' Lee's spectacular rise is well documented. Born in the mid-1960s, he was the fifth of seven children in a poor family from Andong, a riverside city southeast of Seoul. His father worked as a market cleaner while his mother was a fee collector at public bathrooms, according to his office and biographies that include excerpts from Lee's own diaries. With civil war-ravaged South Korea in the early throes of a rapid industrialization that would transform it into a manufacturing powerhouse, Lee began working in factories as a teenager – from jewelry plants to refrigerator assembly lines. While working at a factory making baseball gloves, he permanently injured his left arm. In his diary, Lee would write about his envy of students he saw wearing school uniforms and those who had enough to eat. Despite his humble beginnings, he eventually passed his school exams and earned a full scholarship to study law at Chung-Ang University, one of Seoul's top private universities. From there, Lee became a human rights lawyer, eventually entering politics in 2010 as the mayor of Seongnam city, just outside Seoul, representing the liberal Democratic Party. That led to another, more significant, stint from 2018 as governor of Gyeonggi province, the country's most populous, which surrounds the capital. By then, he was eyeing the presidency – and left the governorship to run in the 2022 election, losing to Yoon by less than one percentage point. Lee became a lawmaker after that, surviving an assassination attempt in January 2024 when a man stabbed him in the neck during a public event in the southern city of Busan, in what his party denounced as an 'act of political terror.' Later that year came Yoon's ill-fated power grab. Lee again made headlines as one of the lawmakers who rushed to the legislature and pushed past soldiers to hold an emergency vote to lift martial law. He livestreamed himself jumping a fence to enter the building, in a viral video viewed tens of millions of times. Despite his growing popularity, Lee has been viewed with suspicion by many opponents because of his criminal trials – including over alleged bribery and charges related to a property development scandal. Separately, he was convicted of violating election law by knowingly making a false statement during a debate in the 2022 presidential campaign. The case has been sent to an appeals court. Lee denies all the charges against him. Speaking to CNN in December, he claimed he had been indicted on various charges 'without any evidence or basis,' and that the allegations are politically motivated. Yoon's martial law decree had been in part fueled by his frustration over a months-long political stalemate, with Lee's Democratic Party blocking the president from moving forward with many of his campaign promises and policies. Now, the Democratic Party controls both the parliament and the presidency – which could see 'a return to normal politics,' said Celeste Arrington, Korea Foundation associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University in the US capital. 'It might be easier to push through policies than it had been under impeached President Yoon,' she added. And Lee has a lot to do, right away – including addressing a sluggish economy and getting involved in the US-South Korea trade talks. 'I will immediately activate an emergency economic response task force team to restore people's livelihood and revive the economy,' he said during his inauguration speech on Wednesday. He added that he would 'turn the global economic and security crisis into an opportunity to maximize our national interest,' and strengthen trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan. Arrington added that Lee clearly sees the US-South Korea alliance as the 'backbone' of the country's national security – but he will have to balance that against relations with China. The US rival is also South Korea's largest trading partner. Yoon took a famously hard line on North Korea, and relations have plummeted. In contrast, Lee hails from a political party that has historically taken a more conciliatory approach to South Korea's autocratic neighbor. Lee reiterated the long-standing goal of peace on the Korean Peninsula, vowing to 'respond firmly to North Korea's nuclear threats while also keeping communication channels open.' But above all, Lee emphasized the importance of rebuilding public trust, badly damaged by the martial law crisis – and punishing those responsible. 'I will rebuild everything that was destroyed by the insurrection and create a society that continues to grow and develop,' he said on Wednesday. 'An insurrection that uses the military's power, to seize the people's sovereignty, must never happen again.' CNN's Lauren Kent contributed reporting.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's impeached president?
South Korea's beleaguered president Yook Suk Yeol was removed from office on Friday after a panel of judges upheld his impeachment over a short-lived martial law attempt last December. The 64-year-old's shock military takeover on 3 December was reversed after lawmakers defied security forces to vote it down. Parliament voted to impeach him later than month. An election for the country's next leader must now be held within 60 days. The ruling was met with mixed responses - reflecting political divisions within the country - with the anti-Yoon crowd exploding into jubiliant cheers, while his supporters burst into loud boos. Yoon is also facing a separate insurrection charge, making him the country's first sitting president charged with a crime. In South Korea, insurrection is punishable by life in prison or death. However the latter is unlikely, given that the country has not carried out executions in decades. Yoon was arrested in January following a weeks-long stand-off between anti-corruption investigators and his personal security detail. He was released in March after his detention was overturned on technical grounds. Yoon justified his extraordinary martial law order last year by accusing the opposition of "trying to throw overthrow the free democracy". But it soon became clear that he was motivated by his own political troubles. Plagued with personal scandals and mounting pressure from the opposition, Yoon's popularity had been falling since he took office in 2022. The unravelling of Yoon Suk Yeol: South Korea's 'stubborn and hot-tempered' martial law president How one man threw South Korea into a political crisis Why is it so hard to arrest South Korea's impeached president? The president's gamble backfired: What was he thinking? What is martial law and why was it declared? Woman who grabbed South Korean soldier's gun speaks to BBC How two hours of martial law chaos unfolded Yoon was a relative newcomer to politics when he won the presidency. He had risen to national prominence for prosecuting the corruption case against disgraced former President Park Geun-hye in 2016. In 2022, the political novice narrowly beat his liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung by less than 1% of the vote - the closest result the country has seen since direct elections started to be held in 1987. At a time when South Korean society was grappling with widening divisions over gender issues, Yoon appealed to young male voters by running on an anti-feminism platform. People had 'high hopes' for Yoon when he was elected, said Don S Lee, associate professor of public administration at Sungkyunkwan University. 'Those who voted for Yoon believed that a new government under Yoon will pursue such values as principle, transparency and efficiency.' Yoon has also championed a hawkish stance on North Korea. The communist state was cited by Yoon when he tried to impose martial law. He said he needed to protect against North Korean forces and 'eliminate anti-state elements', even though it was apparent from the outset that his announcement was less about the threat from the North and more about his domestic woes. Yoon is known for gaffes, which haven't helped his ratings. During his 2022 campaign he had to walk back a comment that authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan, who declared martial law and was responsible for massacring protestors in 1980, had been "good at politics". Later that year he was forced to deny insulting the US Congress in remarks made after meeting US President Joe Biden in New York. He was caught on a hot mic and seen on camera seemingly calling US lawmakers a Korean word that can be translated as "idiots" or something much stronger. The footage quickly went viral in South Korea. Still, Yoon has had some success in foreign policy, notably improving ties in his country's historically fraught relationship with Japan. Much of the scandal surrounding Yoon's presidency centred around his wife Kim Keon Hee, who was accused of corruption and influence peddling - most notably allegedly accepting a Dior bag from a pastor. In November, Yoon apologised on behalf of his wife while rejecting calls for an investigation into her activities - a move that did little to help his wobbly approval ratings. Yoon was relegated to a lame duck president after the opposition Democratic Party won the parliamentary election by a landslide last April. The result was widely seen as a vote of no confidence on Yoon's time in office. Thereafter, Yoon was reduced to vetoing bills passed by the opposition. "He used the presidential veto with unprecedented frequency," said Celeste Arrington, director of The George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies. "In terms of his ruling style, his critics called it authoritarian." He also faced increasing pressure from his political opponents. In the lead-up to Yoon's martial law declaration, the opposition slashed the budget proposed by Yoon's ruling party and moved to impeach cabinet members for failing to investigate the first lady. With such political challenges pushing his back against the wall, Yoon went for the nuclear option - a move that few, if any, could have predicted. Dr Arrington said that many had worried about a political crisis "because of the confrontation between the president and the opposition-controlled National Assembly," said Dr Arrington. "Though few predicted such an extreme move as declaring martial law." President Yoon's declaration of martial law was a "legal overreach and a political miscalculation", according to Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. "He sounded like a politician under siege," Dr Easley told the BBC. "With extremely low public support and without strong backing within his own party and administration, the president should have known how difficult it would be to implement his late-night decree." Crisis has engulfed Yoon's government in the wake of the martial law order, with top officials - including the ex-defence minister and heads of the police and military - being investigated for their involvement. Divisions have solidified in the ruling PPP, which had teetered between defending the unpopular leader and denouncing him. Yoon's impeachment vote passed in parliament with most PPP lawmakers opposing it. Party leader Han Dong-hoon, who had called for the removal of Yoon as the only way forward, resigned shortly after the vote as internal strife intensified. Meanwhile, a stalemate persists in the opposition-dominated parliament. Opposition lawmakers have already impeached Han Duck-soo, the prime minister who became acting president after Yoon. They accused Han of being Yoon's "puppet" after he vetoed opposition-led bills and refused to appoint three constitutional judges to oversee Yoon's impeachment trial. And though finance minister Choi Sang-mok is in charge for now, the opposition has threatened to impeach him too. Anger has swept the country, as massive crowds continually take to the streets calling for Yoon's impeachment. Yoon's supporters, however, are holding protests of their own. Throughout the chaos, Yoon has projected what his critics see as defiance - or, as his supporters may see it, determination. Following his arrest, Yoon expressed gratitude his supporters. "Although these are dark days... the future of this country is hopeful," he said. "To my fellow citizens, I wish you all the best and stay strong. Thank you."
