Yoon Suk Yeol’s Legacy: Weak Party, Fragmented Society and Fractured Democracy

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The former president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, began his political career on 10 May 2022, to transform ‘the nation that truly belongs to its people’. “I solemnly pledge today that I will do my utmost to elevate Korea into a country that truly belongs to the people. A country based on the pillars of freedom, human rights, fairness, and solidarity”, he stated in his inauguration speech. However, instead of delivering on his pledge to protect democracy and freedom, he actively undermined and restricted it. In summary, his legacy is summed up by this journey from hope to regret. A trip from a renowned prosecutor to a tainted president. As his political journey ends, looking at Yoon’s legacy and what he has left behind is important.

Following the Constitutional Court judgement, Yoon joined two exclusive clubs. First, he is the second sitting president to be impeached by the Constitutional Court after Park Geun-hye, another conservative leader. Second, he is the only president who has declared martial law after South Korea’s democratisation. No president in the country’s history has faced such intense allegations as Yoon. Looking at Yoon’s tenure, it can be said that it was riddled with controversies and contestation. This has been shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Controversies during President Yoon’s Tenure

Source: Compiled by Author 

Mapping Domestic Landscape 

Yoon's legacy has significantly touched the country's polity, institutions, and society. Growing ideological competition, societal division, the politicisation of civil-military interactions, and a decline in institutional confidence are some of the major manifestations of his legacy. Although Yoon's declaration of martial law and later policies have affected Korea’s democracy, his earlier actions were just as significant. The country's political, ideological, and gender division has deepened during his leadership. He has strengthened the conservative far right; civil-military relations have been strained; society is increasingly split along gender, party, and ideological lines; and, last but not least, the once-reliable institutions are now viewed with suspicion.

Growing ideological competition, societal division, the politicisation of civil-military interactions, and a decline in institutional confidence are some of the major manifestations of his legacy.

Yoon’s actions have stimulated and encouraged the far-right wing, leading to further social fragmentation and gendered group thinking. He has knowingly given political legitimacy to the viewpoints of conspiracy conservatives and anti-feminists, further alienating moderates and the younger generation from his party. Under him, the definition of conservatism and the contour of the movement has changed, moving away from the centre-right to the extreme right. Conservative characteristics such as accountability, respect for democratic institutions, and due process have been systematically eroded. Apart from this, we are seeing the start of a new ideological movement led by Men, Media, and MAGA. This movement has expanded under the shadow of the new conservatism, aligning with South Korea’s own Make Korea Great Again (MKGA) campaign, inspired by Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which promotes conspiracy theories, delegitimisation of electoral institutions, and preference for alternative truths. Questioning the validity of the elections has now become a conservative talking point. Moreover, the division sowed under his tenure is expected to grow into a tree, giving more oxygen and fuelling further fragmentation.

Apart from ideological clashes, the trust in the country's political institutions has decreased. Caught up in the political crossfire, all institutions suffered, including the President’s office, National Assembly, Judiciary, Constitutional Court, and National Election Commission. The fight has intensified since the April elections, as the Opposition secured majority seats. The ruling party and the opposition have accused each other of misusing institutions. President Yoon has misused his office to protect the First Lady, undermining the role of the National Assembly. Similarly, the Opposition has used its majority in the assembly to sabotage the ruling administration's powers. The appointment of constitutional court justices continues to be another prestige issue between the two sides, which has further eroded the trust in judges, as observed during Yoon’s trial and lately with the appointment of Lee Wan-kyu as Justice.

President Yoon has misused his office to protect the First Lady, undermining the role of the National Assembly.

Yoon’s legacy has vitiated the civil-military relations. The recent actions undertaken by the armed forces have stunned many in public, bringing back the dark memories of the military's role during the anti-democratic protests of the 1970s and 1980s. Last year’s military actions were a stark reminder for many who had only read about such things in history books. Thus, after the martial law episode, the doubts over the military’s politicisation have increased. The closeness between Kim Yong-hyun, former defence minister, and senior military officers has raised concerns about the military's influence on politics and vice-versa. Following the episode, the Opposition is focused on enacting military reforms to bridge the earlier legal gap and ensure the military's political neutrality is kept intact. Besides, the army, police, and intelligence agencies' role has also come under the political radar.

Foreign Policy Terrain: Back to Square One?  

Apart from domestic politics, Yoon’s legacy on the foreign policy front was immensely appreciated by many, at home and abroad. He invested a lot of effort in forging strategic ties with Japan and aligning South Korea with the US. Unlike Moon Jae-in, who took a cautious approach, Yoon openly accepted the Indo-Pacific construct, releasing South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy within eight months into office. Under Yoon, South Korea looked beyond its immediate geography and the North Korean threat, focusing on developing strategic ties with Southeast and South Asian countries. This step-up highlighted Seoul's willingness to contribute to stability and security, becoming a significant regional security and economic stakeholder. This foreign policy shift from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity was a much-needed diplomatic elevation. However, Yoon again neglected the importance of bipartisanship in foreign policy. This style of foreign policy decision-making again reflected his political immaturity. Due to the lack of political consensus, the differences on critical foreign policy issues persisted between Yoon and the opposition. With his hawkish approach towards North Korea, closer alliance with the US, development of closer ties with Japan, and Ukraine issue, Yoon and the opposition party never looked eye to eye.

Under Yoon, South Korea looked beyond its immediate geography and the North Korean threat, focusing on developing strategic ties with Southeast and South Asian countries.

His bad domestic decisions now overshadow much of the diplomatic progress achieved by his administration, particularly the Trilateral Security Cooperation and Korea-Japan ties. Disdain, for Yoon, has given the opposition enough reasons to discontinue his policies even if they like. While Lee Jae-myung, the Opposition leader and the leading presidential front runner, has expressed his intention to continue some of the decisions, such as good relations with Japan and the US, including the Trilateral, the extent to which the policies will continue remains to be seen. Nonetheless, expecting a status-quo foreign policy from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) would be a grave mistake, given their background and agenda.

Does Yoon have a Political Future? 

It seems that Yoon has not given up on his political career. Before leaving his presidential residence, his last statement hints at the start of a new political innings, albeit in a different avatar. He said ‘I will seek a new path in service of our nation and its people.’ However, given his current circumstances, this would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Nonetheless, irrespective of the last four and half months of political turmoil, what can be said is his journey as a prosecutor general was much better than his period as a politician and president. If he had continued to live by his earlier professional motto of ‘serve the law, not individuals’ during his time as the president, he would have done a much better job as a president. Unfortunately, he misjudged politics and made many ill-informed decisions. These decisions will continue to have profound implications for the country. Therefore, we can say that despite his foreign policy achievements, Yoon will be remembered for weakening Korea's democracy, polarising society, and diminishing his party.

Abhishek Sharma is a Research Assistant with the Strategic Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation.

• International Affairs
• East and Southeast Asia
• civil-military relations
• democratic backsliding
• far-right politics
• First Lady scandal
• First Lady scandal
• impeachment
• Indo-Pacific strategy
• Korea-Japan ties
• Korea-Japan ties
• MAGA influence
• MAGA influence
• martial law
• opposition victory
• opposition victory
• Political Crisis
• societal division
• South Korea
• US alliance
• Yoon Suk Yeol
• Yoon Suk Yeol

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