A novice in politics, the new South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol made himself known to the general public as an inflexible prosecutor, when he worked on corruption scandals splashing the country’s top officials.
But because of his aggressive positions towards Pyongyang, his anti-feminist electoral promises and a displayed insensitivity on issues such as poverty or the war in Ukraine, this conservative has aroused many controversies.
His parliamentary inexperience could also cost him dearly against a National Assembly controlled by his Democratic Party rivals, who will be watching his policies closely.
Born in Seoul in 1960, Mr Yoon played a key role in ousting former President Park Geun-hye for abuse of power in 2017.
Appointed the country’s first prosecutor in 2019, he also charged a close aide to outgoing President Moon Jae-in with fraud and corruption. This affair has tarnished the image of integrity of the Moon administration, which had nevertheless appointed Mr. Yoon to his post.
This is how he caught the attention of the People’s Power Party (PPP, right), which began courting him. He eventually won the primaries to become its presidential candidate.
Mr. Yoon “has built his reputation as a relentless fighter against the abuse of power, and not as a conventional democratic leader who values negotiation and understanding”, underlines to AFP Gi-Wook Shin, professor of sociology at Stanford University.
– Right icon –
He became the “icon” of the Conservatives because he was “considered the best person to beat the Democratic Party candidate, despite his lack of experience in political leadership”, adds Mr Shin.
“This does not bode well for Korean democracy, as we can expect further polarization,” he said.
South Korean political life is very divided, analysts say. All living former presidents have been imprisoned for corruption after their term.
Despite his role in ousting Ms Park, Mr Yoon received support from Tory voters by offering them a chance to “take revenge” on Mr Moon – even going so far as to threaten to investigate him for “ irregularities” which he did not specify.
And Mr. Yoon’s wife claimed that her critics would be prosecuted if her husband won, because it is “the nature of power”, according to recorded and published remarks without his knowledge.
– Inspired by Churchill –
According to South Korean media, Yoon takes former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as a role model.
An outspoken anti-feminist, he has pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, which has spearheaded progress for South Korean women since 2001. He has argued that South Korean women do not suffer from systemic discrimination , despite ample evidence to the contrary.
His words prompted young women to mobilize against him. Mr Yoon won the election with the narrowest margin ever. And his transition committee later said he would retain the Ministry of Gender Equality for the time being.
On North Korea, Mr Yoon threatened his nuclear-armed neighbor with preemptive strikes, which analysts say seems completely unrealistic.
During his campaign, he called Kim Jong Un a “rude boy” and pledged to his constituents to “teach him manners”.
It also wants to acquire the American THAAD missile system to counter the North, despite the risks of attracting new economic retaliation measures from China, its main trading partner.
“Mr. Yoon’s lack of political skills will affect foreign policy,” Minseon Ku, a professor of political science at Ohio State University, told AFP.
So far, Yoon’s camp “seemed to just be copying and pasting foreign policy phrases from speeches by Republican American presidents”, she added.
He also committed a series of blunders during the campaign, ranging from praising one of the country’s former dictators to denigrating manual labor and African people.
“The next presidency comes at a time of transition for the world,” especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Karl Friedhoff of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs told AFP.
“That means facing difficult trade-off challenges that South Korea hasn’t had to face in the past. Is Yoon up to the task? »