Opinions are divided on Yoon Suk-yeol. South Korea’s new president considers himself “anti-feminist” and has helped topple some of the country’s most corrupt politicians.

Yoon Suk-yeol is the new President of South Korea, one of the few countries to adopt the presidential system as a form of government. Former South Korean leader Moon Jae-in was unable to run again as the head of state is only allowed to serve a single five-year term.

Yoon won the March 9 presidential election by just 247,000 votes (0.07% of the total), defeating liberal Lee Jae-myung. The poll became known as the “Squid Game elections”, in allusion to the popular Netflix series, illustrating the harshness of the confrontation between the two candidates.

This was considered one of the “dirtiest” elections in the history of South Korea, with accusations of corruption and various scandals.

Liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung was linked to a multi-million-dollar corruption scandal when he was mayor of Seongnam. Meanwhile, the wife of the new South Korean president has been accused in the past of accepting bribes or manipulating stock assets.

The son of a couple of university professors, Yoon Suk-yeol is a rookie in politics. A former attorney general, Yoon formally entered party politics less than a year ago.

He worked in the justice sector all his life. He graduated in law at Seoul National University and only entered the Bar on the ninth attempt, highlights Expresso.

“I spent many years of my career living alone while working as a promoter in local and regional offices. So I started to cook a lot for myself and I liked it. I think I learned skills naturally, watching my mother in the kitchen when I was young,” the new South Korean leader said in an interview with The Washington Post.

In his victory speech to the National Assembly, Yoon was clear: “This is a victory for the great people of South Korea.”

However, there are those who doubt that this is so. The new President declared himself “anti-feminist”, having promised to abolish the Ministry for Gender Equality. Despite evidence to the contrary, Yoon claims that South Korean women do not experience systemic discrimination.

Furthermore, last year he suggested that the falling birthrate in South Korea was the fault of women.

Yoon’s popularity and prestige skyrocketed when he led an investigation team into a corruption and abuse of power scandal involving the country’s then President.

Park Geun-hye would eventually be impeached and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The former president would eventually be pardoned and released last year.

Yoon also exposed corruption cases that implicated members of Moon Jae-in’s Government, which led conservatives to choose him as a candidate for these presidential elections.

The “bold plan” for North Korea

The new president said Tuesday in his inaugural speech that he has “a bold plan” to improve the North’s economy if Pyongyang abandons nuclear aspirations.

“While it is true that North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs pose a threat not only to our security and that of Northeast Asia, the door to dialogue will remain open,” Yoon told some 40,000 people in the gardens. of the National Assembly, the South Korean parliament.

“If North Korea truly embarks on a process to complete denuclearization, we are ready to work with the international community and come up with a bold plan that will greatly strengthen North Korea’s economy and improve the quality of life for its people,” the statement said. conservative.

Yoon argued that North Korea’s disarmament will bring “peace and prosperity” to the peninsula and also stressed the need to boost domestic growth.

“Our society is plagued by divisions and social conflicts that threaten our freedom and our liberal democratic order,” said the new President.

“I don’t think we can overcome this problem without first achieving rapid and sustainable growth,” which “will only be possible through science, technology and innovation,” Yoon said.

The leader of the People’s Power Party began his term at midnight (3 pm on Monday in Lisbon), with a videoconference with the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Won In-choul, about neighboring North Korea.

Yoon, a former attorney general, ordered military commanders to maintain military readiness and said “the security situation on the Korean peninsula is very serious.”

Source: With Agencies