South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has seen his popularity ratings plunge since he took office in 2022, due to a series of scandals and controversies that even prompted hundreds of thousands to call for his impeachment.
Deadly crowd crush: Just months after his inauguration, the Itaewon Halloween crowd crushtook place, killing 159 people, with the public demanding accountability and action from authorities.
Families told CNN a year on they remained unsatisfied with the response — especially after Yoon blocked a bill proposing a new probe into the incident earlier this year, according to Reuters.
Designer bag controversy: Then there was the Dior bag controversy: The president’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, was accused of accepting a $2,200 designer bag as a gift, which would violate the anti-graft law banning public officials and their spouses from receiving gifts valued at more than $750.
Yoon has called the Dior allegations a “political stunt” — but instead of blowing over, the scandal has escalated into a full-blown crisis for Yoon and his conservative party, reflected in the parliamentary elections in April where liberal opposition parties scored a landslide victory.
The opposition’s parliamentary sway is partly what prompted Yoon to order emergency martial law, citing a motion by the opposition to impeach top prosecutors and reject a government budget proposal.
