Ignominy, impeachment, death sentences, imprisonment: What’s the problem with South Korean presidents?

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Expert says South Korean president’s failed martial law declaration attempt a ‘blunder,’ to ‘reassert himself’

South Korea’s opposition parties moved Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was not impeached on Saturday after his People Power Party (PPP) walked out of the National Assembly in a boycott of the vote. But Yoon is far from out of the woods. The leader of his own party, the PPP, said on Friday that Yoon should have his presidential powers suspended after it emerged that the president had ordered the arrests of a list of his foes after announcing martial law. Among those on the list was the aforementioned head of the PPP.

Earlier on Saturday, Yoon apologized for his controversial move saying on national television, “My decision to declare martial law has stemmed from desperation as a leader of this country. But I caused the people anxiety and discomfort in the process, for which I am deeply sorry. I apologize to the South Korean people.”

Yoon could still face another impeachment vote for what lawmakers see as an unconstitutional power grab. But whether he survives the last two and a half years of his term or is booted from office, Yoon has already joined a list of predecessors with serious stains on their reputations.

SOUTH KOREAN LEADER FACING MOUNTING CALLS TO RESIGN OR BE IMPEACHED OVER MARTIAL LAW

People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

If Yoon one day enters a prison cell, it will likely shock no one in Korea. After all, the odds are not in his favor. Not counting Yoon, four of the last six democratically elected presidents of Korea have done jail time. Expressed as a percentage, that’s more than 66%.

Korean democracy looks storybook perfect, but consider this: Since World War II, the nation has had 13 heads of state. The first five were not paragons of democracy. Of those: one was forced to resign and flee the country, two were deposed in military coups, and one was assassinated by his close friend, who was also the head of South Korea’s equivalent of the CIA.

Out of the eight democratically elected presidents (which includes Yoon), all have been implicated in scandals. Even Kim Dae-jung, the late dissident-turned-president who won a Nobel Peace Prize, is now viewed less favorably after it emerged that he essentially bribed North Korea into holding an unprecedented inter-Korean summit meeting.

Jailed former president Roh Tae-Woo (R) looks on as South Korean new President Kim Dae-Jung (L) shakes hands with jailed former president Chun Doo-Hwan (not in picture)  before taking the oath as President during the ceremony of the Inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul 25 February.       (Photo by Choo Youn-Kong/AFP via Getty Images)

So far, four elected Korean heads of state have served time in prison, two were impeached with one convicted and removed from office, one ex-president jumped off a 150-foot-high mountain cliff, dying by suicide in 2009 after his aides, relatives and even wife and son were investigated for bribery and other corruption charges. Since the country’s founding, another two presidents have been sentenced to death but later pardoned.

One would be forgiven for assuming the above were a script for a Korean TV drama series. Korea is a democratic, highly educated, extremely technologically advanced, conservative and deeply religious society. So, why do almost none of its ex-presidents end up enjoying a happy post-presidency?

SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT IS PICKING UP GOLF IN HOPES TO IMPRESS TRUMP

Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak (L) arrives at a court to attend his trial in Seoul on September 6, 2018. Prosecutors demanded 20 years in prison for former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak for corruption,  the last of the country’s four living ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry. J (Ung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images)

“The president of Korea has a great deal of power, too much power in my opinion,” Professor Lee told Fox News Digital. “Some have called it an ‘imperial presidency.’ What that leads to, of course, is hubris.”

Sung-Yoon Lee, whose recent book The Sister: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the Most Dangerous Woman in the World, examines the life and role of the fascinatingly terrifying sister of North Korea’s Supreme Leader, also told Fox News Digital that Korean culture is a large contributing factor to why so many at the top fall from grace. While Christianity took root in the late nineteenth century and rapidly grew following the Korean War, Korea retains its Confucian ethic, and loyalty and obedience are high on the list of chief virtues.

TOPSHOT – South Korean ousted leader Park Geun-Hye (L) arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on May 25, 2017, for her trial over the massive corruption scandal that led to her downfall.   (Photo by Jung Yeon-Je/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

In North Korea those values are expressed in slavish devotion to the absurd notion of a dynastic communist state where people explode into tears and clap feverishly at the sight of their overly well-nourished, baby-faced dictator, Kim Jong-un – or Kim the Third – as he’s followed by an entourage of scribes who write down his every utterance, ensuring not a grunt of his near-divine wisdom is lost to posterity.

In South Korea, loyalty and deference to authority (alongside a host of other values, of course, such as hard work, thrift, and commitment to education) have created an economic powerhouse with electronics mega giant Samsung and rapidly growing carmaker Hyundai just two examples of globally respected Korean brands. K-pop and K-drama dominate in Asia and around the world; all of their industries have been created through strict discipline and grueling work hours.

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The dark side, however, includes elements of the overzealousness that thrives in North Korea: South Korean bosses, teachers, elders and leaders of all kinds are accustomed to being obeyed. At the apex of the social hierarchy sits the president, who inhabits a bubble where questioning their judgment is a near taboo. As evidenced by the rap sheets, these leaders develop a strong tendency to see themselves as infallible, if not above the law. President Yoon, Yoon, like so many before him, is discovering too late that there are, in fact, red lines — and the Rubicon now appears behind him.

Eryk Michael Smith is a Taiwan-based correspondent who since 2007, has worked both as a broadcast journalist for the island’s only English-language radio station, ICRT, as well as with numerous other publications and local news outlets. Smith’s journalism focuses on Taiwan-China relations, local politics, as well as science and technology developments in the greater China region. He is based in Taiwan’s largest southern city, Kaohsiung. He can be followed @ErykSmithTaiwan