Tag: Yoon Suk-yeol

The DP must be really concerned that this judge will not be in favor of convicting Yoon if they are going through all this trouble to remove him:

The Democratic Party (DP) on Monday disclosed photos it claims show a judge overseeing the insurrection trial of former President Yoon Suk Yeol at a hostess bar, shortly after the judge denied allegations in connection with such a hostess bar.

Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court has been at the center of the allegations, but flatly denied such allegations of being treated to multiple visits to the hostess bar.

However, Rep. Noh Jong-myeon, the spokesperson for the DP’s election committee, presented images of Jee seated alongside pixelated two individuals at the bar, in what he claimed was taken inside the bar in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district.

“The interior patterns and props in the two photos are identical,” Noh said, without elaborating on when the photos were taken. “We cannot entrust an insurrection trial to a judge who blatantly lied despite clear photographic evidence.”

Noh called for Jee’s immediate removal from the bench, saying that the party is considering filing the case with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Introducing the Yoon Suk Yeol cult… the "Yoonis", should really be spelled Yoonies…

"Love of My Life Yoon Again". No words https://t.co/u0BIczxQGI pic.twitter.com/TpfjrcwMUN

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) May 12, 2025

We have another hangbag gate to include necklace gate involving the former Korean First Lady:

Prosecutors searched the Seoul residence of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday as part of an ongoing corruption investigation involving a spiritual adviser.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to seize evidence related to suspected lobbying and illicit financial exchanges between the former presidential couple and a shaman named Jeon Seong-bae, better known by his alias “Geonjin.”

The disgraced former president and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, face multiple criminal charges, including corruption and election interference, but Wednesday’s operation marked the first time investigators searched their residence.

Jeon, 65, is under investigation on suspicion of receiving illegal political funds from candidates in the 2018 local elections. He was arrested in December 2024 on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, which governs how political parties and politicians can raise, manage and spend money for their activities.

The probe later expanded to include Yoon and Kim following revelations linking them to the case. 

Jeon, who was reportedly involved in Yoon’s election campaign during the 2022 presidential race, is suspected of exerting influence over personnel appointments and acting as an intermediary using his personal ties with the former first couple.

Prosecutors allege a former high-ranking Unification Church official, identified only by his surname, Yoon, delivered a diamond necklace worth 60 million won ($42,000) and an expensive handbag to Jeon shortly after Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022. The items were reportedly intended as gifts for the former first lady.

Prosecutors are investigating whether the gifts were actually delivered to Kim. Jeon is said to have testified that he lost the necklace. 

The investigators also suspect that the Unification Church official attempted to lobby the couple through Jeon in a bid to secure official development assistance (ODA) funding through the government for the church’s business projects in Cambodia.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, wearing a baseball cap reading “Make Korea Great Again,” greets supporters gathered near the presidential residence in Seoul’s Yongsan District, Friday, as he departs the premises. Joint Press Corps 

Impeached President Yoon continues the tradition of if you are a conservative President in South Korea you will be prosecuted afterwards and likely jailed:

Disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to stand trial Monday on charges of orchestrating an insurrection through his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, marking his first formal court appearance since being removed from office by the Constitutional Court early this month.

The first hearing, at which Yoon is required to appear, is to take place at the Seoul Central District Court and has drawn criticism for shielding the ousted leader from public view — a departure from the manner in which former presidents were tried in criminal court. (…….)

With his appearance at the Seoul Central District Court’s pretrial hearing of his criminal trial in February, Yoon became the first sitting president to go on trial for criminal charges.

But Yoon is far from the first former president to stand trial, as prior to Yoon, Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye all faced criminal charges after their respective presidencies.

According to the Criminal Act, those convicted of leading an insurrection can face either the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It is moving day for the Yoon family:

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to leave the presidential residence Friday to return to his private residence in southern Seoul, officials said Thursday, following his removal from office last week.

“Yoon plans to leave the official residence at 5 p.m. Friday move to his private residence,” a senior presidential official said in a press notice. 

The Presidential Security Service (PSS) has reportedly completed organizing a private residence security team of about 40 people for Yoon. Under the current law, Yoon can receive protection from the PSS for up to 10 years.

Yoon’s private residence is located at the Acrovista apartment complex in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, and he previously stayed there for six months even after his presidential inauguration in May 2022.

Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, are reportedly considering moving to another private residence in the capital area later because they own as many as 11 pet dogs and cats and the presence of security guards may cause some inconveniences for neighbors.

Yonhap

It seems like it would be tough for a former President to live in an apartment building because of the impact all the security requirements would have on their neighbors. It makes sense they would likely try and find house to live in that would not cause so impact to neighbors like living in an apartment would cause.

The impeachment charges against Han have been dropped which has caused him to be reinstated as the interim President:

The Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law.

Han’s impeachment was dismissed in a 5-1 vote by the court’s eight justices. Two justices voted to reject the impeachment motion entirely.

The ruling came three months after the National Assembly impeached the prime minister and then acting president over his alleged role in Yoon’s Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, among other reasons.

Four of the five justices who voted to dismiss Han’s impeachment acknowledged there were violations of the Constitution and the law in his decision to defer the appointment of additional justices to the court, but noted it did not justify his removal from office.

As the only justice to uphold the impeachment, however, Justice Chung Kye-sun said the violations were “serious” enough to warrant his dismissal.

You can read more at the link, but I think people should not read too much into this dismissal as it relates to impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol. None of the justices believed that Han had anything to do with the martial law declaration:

The six justices who voted to either dismiss or uphold the impeachment said there was no evidence to back the National Assembly’s accusations that Han took proactive action to give legitimacy to Yoon’s martial law bid, such as by convening a Cabinet meeting ahead of its declaration.

For Yoon to get his charges dismissed he needed to convince the judges that his martial law declaration did not violate the ROK constitution and laws which is very different charges than what Han was facing. With Han impeachment decision now completed it will be interesting to see if the Constitutional Court releases their decision on Yoon at the end of the week.

Here was a Sunday surprise for impeached President Yoon:

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from jail Saturday, a day after a court’s ruling that allowed him to stand trial without physical detention over his failed bid to impose martial law in December.

Waving to his supporters, Yoon walked out of the Seoul Detention Center, 52 days after he was detained on charges of inciting an insurrection. However, impeachment and criminal trials against Yoon will continue. 

Yoon’s release came shortly after Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung decided not to appeal the court’s ruling to release the suspended president. 

Bowing deeply to his supporters, Yoon arrived at his official residence in central Seoul on Saturday evening.

(Yonhap)

You can read more at the link.