Recently, South Korea's political scene has once again made waves. An online petition calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol garnered more than 810,000 signatures in just a few days, a number that continues to climb. The backlash of this magnitude is reminiscent of the 2016 candlelight rallies under the Park Geun-hye administration. Yoon Suk-yeol has only been in power for two years and has fallen into such a predicament, what "crime" has he committed?
The first "crime": corruption scandals and negative anti-corruption commitments
During his 2022 election campaign, Yoon pledged to fight corruption under the slogan "A Fair and Just Society." However, after taking office, he was mired in a whirlpool of corruption scandals. The most striking is a series of controversies surrounding his wife, Kim Keon-hee. Mr. Kim has been accused of improperly interfering in government appointments and has even been implicated in a bribery case involving luxury handbags. Although the accusations have been denied by the Blue House, they have seriously damaged Yoon's image as an "iron-fisted prosecutor" in the eyes of the public.
Even more troubling is the fact that Yoon appears to be ignoring allegations of alleged violations by his cronies and relatives. For example, his friend, Lee Sang-min, the current interior minister, was heavily responsible for the Halloween stampede in Itaewon, Seoul, in 2022, which killed 159 people and injured 196, but has yet to be held accountable. Another example is former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sub, who was appointed ambassador to Australia on suspicion of covering up a military death, seen as the government's move to help him evade justice.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee
These events stand in stark contrast to Yoon's campaign promises, leaving many voters disappointed and angry. They believe that the Yoon Suk-yeol government is turning South Korea into a "prosecutor republic," cracking down political opponents while opening up on its own people.
The second "sin": conniving at Japan's discharge of radioactive wastewater treated by the Fukushima nuclear power plant
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's stance on the issue of discharging contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea has sparked strong discontent in South Korea. In August 2023, Japan began discharging radioactive wastewater treated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, a decision that caused huge controversy in South Korea.
Despite strong opposition from South Korea's fishing community and environmental groups, the Yoon Suk-yeol government has failed to take strong steps to stop Japan's actions. On the contrary, the government's attitude was perceived as too soft, and some even accused the government of "subservience" to Japan on this issue.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol
Not only did the stance spark an outcry in South Korea, but even Chinese netizens began to condemn the South Korean government's inaction. Many South Koreans believe that the government has failed in its responsibility to protect people's health and the marine environment.
The third "sin": exacerbating the risk of war with North Korea
Since coming to power, Yoon Suk-yeol has taken a tougher stance on North Korea policy, which is seen as raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He has actively pushed for South Korea's alliance with the United States and Japan in an attempt to counter the North Korean nuclear threat. However, this practice also has negative consequences.
First, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has strengthened military cooperation with the United States, including increasing the frequency and scale of joint military exercises. These actions were perceived as a provocation by North Korea, leading to more missile tests and military threats from the North Korean side.
Second, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has taken a tougher diplomatic stance toward North Korea and has reduced dialogue and engagement with North Korea. This policy shift has led to a sharp deterioration in inter-Korean relations, and North Korea's hostility toward South Korea has increased significantly.
These policies have been criticized for exacerbating the risk of war on the Korean Peninsula. Many South Koreans fear that the government's policy toward North Korea could trigger a more serious military conflict that threatens South Korea's peace and security.
The fourth "sin": weak economic policies and failure to effectively solve people's livelihood problems
The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's performance in terms of economic policy has also been disappointing. Although the government has succeeded in curbing the surge in property prices by raising interest rates, it has done little to improve people's livelihoods and curb inflation.
South Koreans are generally feeling the economic pressure and the cost of living rising. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration does not appear to have effective policies to deal with these challenges. Choi Jin, director of the Presidential Leadership Institute, said: "He needs to go all out to improve people's livelihoods and curb inflation, two issues that have caused many neutral voters to turn their backs on him." "
In addition, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's efforts to promote reforms in areas such as labor, national pension, and education have been unable to proceed smoothly due to a lack of effective communication and cooperation with opposition parties. This political impasse and administrative inertia have made it difficult for Yoon to present concrete domestic performance to voters.
In the face of these four "sins", the discontent of the South Korean people continued to accumulate, and finally erupted into a large-scale online petition campaign. So far, more than 810,000 people have signed a petition calling for Yoon's impeachment on the National Assembly website. This number far exceeds the 50,000 threshold set by South Korean law.
Under South Korean law, any petition that receives more than 50,000 signatures must be referred to a committee of parliament. The committee will decide whether to submit the petition to Parliament for a vote. If the parliament passes by a two-thirds majority, the impeachment of the president can be requested. After that, the Constitutional Court will consider the motion and make a final decision on whether to remove the president or reinstate him.
However, despite such strong public opinion, there are still many obstacles to the actual progress of the impeachment process. According to media reports, the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, has shown hesitation to turn the petition into an impeachment bill. A Democratic Party spokesman said the party had not yet discussed the matter.
To put it simply, the impeachment of the president would greatly affect the stability and unity of the country, and it is an extremely serious political action that needs to be supported by sufficient legal and political reasons. Despite rising public discontent with Yoon, it is debatable whether the legal threshold for impeachment has been met.
Even if the Democrats have a majority in Congress, it will be a huge political challenge to reach the two-thirds impeachment threshold and still need to enlist the support of other parties.
A rush to impeachment could stoke political tensions and provoke a backlash from conservative voters, which could negatively impact the Democrats' performance in future elections.
Finally, South Korea has already experienced two presidential impeachments in 2004 and 2017, and the frequent use of this extreme tactic could affect the country's political stability and international image.