Commentary: President Yoon’s actions have tarnished South Korea’s international reputation
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the country into chaos at a time when a little bit of stability, anywhere, would be nice, says Karishma Vaswani for Bloomberg Opinion.
SINGAPORE: South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has terrible timing. His declaration of martial law has tested the resilience of his country’s democracy, at a time when the economy is under pressure, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has been furthering his nuclear weapons ambitions. A little stability would have been nice.
Yoon managed to avoid impeachment over the weekend by just a handful of votes, but pressure for him to step down is intensifying. On Monday (Dec 9), the justice department banned the president from travelling overseas, while he is under investigation for leading an insurrection. Beyond this turmoil, he is facing a number of challenges to an economy already in jeopardy.
At home, unionised workers at auto factories, railroads, public schools and hospitals are saying they won’t go to work if Yoon doesn’t step down. Another group plans to hold a candlelight vigil everyday in front of parliament to get the president to resign.
This could be a huge potential blow to the trade-reliant economy, at a time when it is already struggling with slower exports and a declining growth rate.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has steered South Korea away from economic dependence on China and boosted trade ties with the US, its main security treaty ally.
Putting aside historical tensions with Japan, he’s pushed for closer military, diplomatic and economic ties with Tokyo, part of President Joe Biden’s push to build a network of partners to help combat Beijing’s increased assertiveness in the region. But those relationships are now under pressure in the leadup to Yoon’s inevitable, messy exit.
