Offended rice farmers. Putting docs. A $2,200 Dior bag.
South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, could have sealed his political destiny on Dec. 3, when he declared martial regulation, triggering public outrage. And on Saturday, the Nationwide Meeting voted to question Mr. Yoon, who was then suspended from workplace.
However even earlier than Mr. Yoon’s transient imposition of navy rule, voters have been livid with a sequence of scandals and unpopular selections since he took workplace. Amid rising inequality, rising costs and escalating threats from North Korea, his controversial management had left him with among the lowest approval rankings in South Korea’s historical past.
Right here’s how Mr. Yoon misplaced the belief of a lot of his citizens.
March
Mr. Yoon was voted into workplace by the thinnest margin since South Korea started holding free presidential elections in 1987. Inside days, he introduced a controversial plan to relocate the Protection Ministry so his workplace may transfer into its compound, at a price to taxpayers of about $41 million.
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Weeks into Mr. Yoon’s time period, two of his cupboard nominees withdrew after being accused of nepotism. Three extra would resign inside months.
September
A media outlet printed a recording of Mr. Yoon apparently utilizing an expletive to check with U.S. lawmakers after a gathering with President Biden. Mr. Yoon known as the report “faux information,” and members of his get together tried to enter the broadcaster’s workplaces. Mr. Yoon has repeatedly gone after
October
Halloween celebrations in Itaewon, a full of life Seoul neighborhood, became catastrophe when 159 younger individuals have been killed in a crowd crush.
March
Pushing to fix ties with Tokyo, Mr. Yoon introduced that his authorities would not search compensation from Japan for subjecting Koreans to pressured labor throughout World Conflict II, saying it could as a substitute pay
April
Citing issues about overproduction, Mr. Yoon vetoed a invoice that might have required the federal government to purchase surplus rice to stabilize costs.
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Tens of 1000’s of
August
Mr. Yoon’s endorsement of close by Japan’s plan to discharge handled radioactive wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant set off a public backlash.
November
Video taken with a hidden camera confirmed Mr. Yoon’s spouse, Kim Keon Hee, accepting an costly Dior pouch. She had been accused of questionable monetary dealings earlier than Mr. Yoon took workplace. Lawmakers handed a invoice requiring an investigation into the claims, however Mr. Yoon vetoed it, denying that his spouse had achieved something flawed.
December
Mr. Yoon vetoed a union-backed invoice that might have restricted firms’ means to sue employees for losses throughout strikes. With wages stagnant,
February
Trainee docs walked off the job, demanding higher pay and dealing situations and protesting Mr. Yoon’s plan to dramatically improve medical college enrollment. Some senior
April
In parliamentary elections, voters gave the opposition 187 of the Nationwide Meeting’s 300 seats, one of many largest majorities in a long time. The outcomes have been broadly seen as a verdict on Mr. Yoon, and his approval ranking hit a brand new low: 23 p.c.
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Mr. Yoon vetoed a invoice calling for a particular investigation into the loss of life of a
November
Demanding wage protections, the nation’s largest commerce union organizer introduced plans for tens of 1000’s of railway, subway and faculty employees to strike throughout the first week of December.
Dec. 3
Mr. Yoon declared martial regulation — however he withdrew the order six hours later, after lawmakers rushed to the Nationwide Meeting and voted to rescind it.
After his impeachment on Saturday, Mr. Yoon addressed the nation and listed what he thought of his accomplishments throughout his time period. He vowed to struggle on within the Constitutional Court docket.
“I’ll by no means quit,” he mentioned.
An individual carrying a Yoon Suk Yeol masks danced in entrance of the Nationwide Meeting constructing after martial regulation was rescinded, because the police started to open the streets.
Chang W. Lee/The New York Occasions