The Korean Presidency to Penitentiary Pipeline

A bit of an update on the Korean situation, from what I can glean. (I like to glean.)

So, on Friday, Korean President Yoon Seok-Yul was unanimously removed from office by the court. If you remember, he hastily declared martial law and then did a “ha, made you look” reversal of the order. He was a conservative, of sorts, but more importantly, pro-USA. Like many Korean presidents, he will likely go to prison.

There will be a presidential election here in only two months. Everyone expects the leftists to win easily. Their most likely nominee, Lee Jae-Myung, is under several investigations himself, and polls at a 34% approval rating. (A poster boy for corruption who may well be the next president.) His party has been on an impeachment spree trying to remove prosecutors and politicians who stand in his way. The lawfare is strong. They’re about to launch their 30th impeachment since Yoon became president in 2022. For perspective, there had only been 21 impeachments in the ROK from 1948-2022, according to The Chosun Ilbo, an English-language newspaper here.

What a blue (left) victory means is more favorable policies toward China, reopening of old wounds and antagonism with Japan (relations have warmed considerably recently, during Yoon’s presidency), some more socialism, and greater distance from the US, although maybe not as much as we think.

It also reinforces the idea that the ROK goes out of its way to choose extremely compromised candidates for the highest office in the country. What a mess.