Yoon's journey from strong-willed prosecutor to dishonorable president

[Anchor]

President Yoon, who began to gain public recognition as a prosecutor about ten years ago, made an unprecedented record by being elected president in his first challenge for public office.

However, throughout his term, he repeatedly had conflicts with the main opposition party, and he has become the third president to have an impeachment motion passed in the National Assembly.

Reporter Choi Kwang-ho summarizes President Yoon's political journey from his first entry into politics to the present.

[Report]

President Yoon gained public recognition in 2013 when he appeared at the National Assembly's audit and boldly exposed external pressure from the leadership regarding the National Intelligence Service's public opinion investigation during his time as a prosecutor.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/then Chief Prosecutor of the Yeoju District: "This happened because it was a step off on the wrong foot from the beginning and it violated principles...."]

The phrase "I do not serve people" has etched President Yoon's image as a strong-willed prosecutor who does not succumb to power.

He later made a glamorous comeback as the Prosecutor General under the Moon Jae-in administration, but he resigned after clashes with authority over investigations related to the administration, then paradoxically emerged as a savior to rebuild the disbanded conservative camp.

His status as a political newcomer who did not know the politics of Yeouido became a strength.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/March 2022/Busan campaign: "I do not know the political grammar of Yeouido or the political calculations, but with your encouragement and support...."]

President Yoon won the presidential election by a narrow margin of 0.73 percentage points.

As the first 'zero-term president' since the constitutional amendment in 1987, where he had no experience in the National Assembly, he emphasized cooperation from the early days of his term.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/March 2022: "Politics that prioritizes people's livelihoods and national interests cannot be achieved only by the efforts of the president and the ruling party. I will communicate with the National Assembly and cooperate with the opposition."]

However, the honeymoon period was not long.

In addition to the controversies surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee that followed him throughout the election period, he faced constant conflicts with the opposition over follow-up measures related to the swearing incident during his visit to the U.S., the Itaewon tragedy, and the death of Corporal Chae.

He had cited the opposition's exercised the most vetoes among past presidents, totaling 25. He was also recorded as the first president since the constitutional amendment to not attend the National Assembly's opening ceremony.

As conflicts continued, President Yoon's rhetoric peaked during the emergency martial law period.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/at the time of declaring emergency martial law: "Our National Assembly has become a den of criminals and is attempting to subvert the liberal democratic system."]

With the impeachment motion against President Yoon passing the National Assembly's plenary session, he has also taken on the disgrace of being the first president to have an impeachment motion proposed twice during his term, following becoming the first president to be banned from leaving the country and the first president to be booked as a suspect.

This is KBS News Choi Kwang-ho.