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0 pointsbobthepanda1y ago0 comments

SK's last presidential election in 2022 was very, very close (48.5-47.3), the closest in South Korean history.

Legislative elections take place at the midpoint between presidential elections, and the opposition kept their majority in 2024, so there was hardly a mandate, if anything the legislative elections indicated a rebuke.

Yoon Suk Yeol is the one of the most unpopular democratic heads of state with 19% approval and 72% disapproval.

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It's worth noting that it seems like he didn't talk to anyone about this and even the head of his party in the National Assembly said they would vote to overturn it.

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ouraf1y ago

Even with his presidency ending, this is insane. In most developed, capitalist countries in the west, anything close to a coup is career suicide, even more so when this comes from the top without the support from media and general population.

You don't become the leader of a developed, stable, democratic nation by pulling crazy stunts like that.

Is there any other factor to influence or any big group that would benefit from such extreme measures?

bobthepandaOP1y ago

The start of democracy in South Korea was not that long ago in 1988.

I do think he was acting by himself; he’s generally got weird political instincts. Part of how he got walloped in the legislative elections was by remarking that green onions were cheap normally because of his policies, when it turned out the supermarket he was electioneering at was running a 75% off sale on them. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/political-leeks-...

South Korea has had exactly one president in the modern democratic era who hasn’t been indicted after their term or impeached.

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