Photo: Office of the President of South Korea / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Yoon Suk Yeol

尹錫悦　/　不明

Prosecutor from South Korea

December 18, 1960 (age 65)　・　Seongbuk District, South Korea

prosecutor
lawyer
politician

My Take

Few political careers swing as violently as Yoon Suk Yeol's. I find him fascinating less as a politician than as a case study in how prosecutorial certainty translates poorly into democratic leadership. He spent decades building a reputation as Korea's most fearless prosecutor, rode that image to the presidency within roughly a year of entering politics, and then became the shortest-serving elected president in the country's democratic history after his removal in 2025. The Time 100 listing and the foreign honors now read like artifacts from a different timeline. To me, his story is a sobering reminder that the skills that take down power are not the same skills that wield it.

Overview

Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean: 윤석열; pronounced [jun sʰʌŋnjʌɭ]; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until his removal from office in 2025. A member of the People Power Party during his presidency, he had the shortest presidency as an elected leader in the country's democratic history. Yoon previously served as prosecutor general from 2019 to 2021.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Yoon Suk Yeol
Name (Japanese): 尹錫悦
Reading: 不明
Born: December 18, 1960 (age 65)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Sagittarius / Rat
Origin: Seongbuk District, South Korea
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: prosecutor / lawyer / politician / jurist

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Chungam High School
University: Seoul National University

Awards & achievements

2022 Time 100
2023 Profile in Courage Award
Order of Merit for National Foundation
Order of the White Eagle
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Order of the Bath
Order of the Netherlands Lion

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/sukyeol.yoon/
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%B9%E9%8C%AB%E6%82%A6

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