South Korea s President Yoon ousted Brash ex prosecutor loses reckless gamble with martial law

SEOUL - South Korea’s ousted leader Yoon Suk Yeol, a brash ex-prosecutor who came to power by repeatedly defying setbacks and taking gambles, ultimately fell victim to political recklessness that led him to impose martial law, former colleagues say.

Dogged by personal scandals involving his wife, a bitter row with political opponents whom he called communist sympathisers, and party-room rifts, Mr Yoon was removed from the presidency on April 4 in the third year of his five-year term.

The Constitutional Court upheld Mr Yoon’s impeachment by parliament, ruling unanimously that he violated his constitutional duty by briefly declaring martial law on Dec 3 with no justifiable grounds.

Mr Yoon, 64, still faces a criminal trial on charges of masterminding insurrection when he mobilised troops to try to shut down an opposition-led parliament that he accused of trying to destroy the country.

He denies wrongdoing, arguing in court that his six-hour attempt at martial law was to protect the country from “anti-state forces”.

Mr Yoon used his legal career as a launchpad for elected office, according to a former colleague, winning the presidency in 2022.

“Yoon Suk Yeol was the most powerful prosecutor-general ever,” said Mr Han Dong-soo, a former judge who was head of internal inspection at the prosecutors’ office under Mr Yoon. “He used the office to carry out his plan to become president and in doing so, his actions were daring.”

Mr Han recalls the future president remarking at a dinner he hosted with free-flowing drinks in 2020: “If I had gone to the military academy, I would have staged a coup.”

Mr Yoon led high-profile investigations of the politically powerful, billed as a crusade against corruption that launched him into the public eye and generated the support that led to his victory in the presidential election.