The presidential curse: South Korean leaders tend to get bad lots
More often than not, top people in Seoul get themselves into all sorts of trouble
“Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived,” goes the rhyme that the English use to memorize the mostly woeful fates of King Henry VIII’s six wives. South Koreans could use one for their leaders.
Last week, former President Yoon Suk-yeol, impeached for staging a failed coup in 2024, was sentenced to a symbolically harsh life term in prison. Historic precedent and political reasoning suggest Yoon is likely to be released in a year or two, but his fate fits a pattern.
Among nations with stable political systems, South Korea stands in respect of occupational hazards for the head of state, Andrey Lankov, professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, has argued. Since 1960, those in power in America’s key Asian ally have been expelled, killed in office, prosecuted for corruption, and found themselves in various kinds of trouble.
The one who even pissed off the US
Post-occupation Korea’s original leader was an anti-Communist hardliner and US favorite. Syngman Rhee spent much of his life in America and was the first Korean person to get a PhD there. While US generals were negotiating an end to the pointless bloodbath that the Korean War had become by 1953, the South’s leader was pushing to derail the armistice that he ultimately refused to sign.
Ruling as a brutal dictator, he had his leading political opponent Cho Bong-am executed on bogus espionage charges. The then 84-year-old Rhee was ousted after a rigged 1960 reelection triggered mass protest. By then he had lost not only domestic support, but also Washington’s backing, but still managed to spend his sunset years in Hawaii.
The one between dictators
Like Rhee before him, Yun Po-sun came from right-wing circles that fought for Korea’s independence from Imperial Japan. He was at the helm for roughly a year during the calamitous Second Republic period, before being removed from real power in a military coup in 1961. Yun was allowed to resign the next year and later received several suspended sentences for working with the political opposition – though his status as ex-president shielded him from serious jail time.
The one still equally loved and hated by South Koreans
Park Chung-hee is revered by some for bringing order to chaos and kickstarting rapid economic growth in South Korea. However, he is hated by others for quashing democracy with an iron fist. General Park’s rule was ended with a bullet – fired not by North Korean commandos as in previous attempts on his life, but by his own national security chief, Kim Jae-gyu. The motive for his assassination remains unclear.
The one who got away
A technocrat with no personal political ambition or power base, Choi Kyu-hah served as prime minister under Park and took his post under the constitutional chain of succession. When the military staged a coup against his government in 1979, he offered no resistance and got away scot-free.
The two who really loved money
General Chun Doo-hwan perpetrated the dictatorial political system erected by Park, starting his term with a violent crackdown on the 1980 Gwangju uprising. He was also notoriously corrupt, contrasting with the acetic Park, who only played loose with funds in pursuit of what he considered national interest, such as a clandestine military nuclear program.
General Roh Taw-woo was Chun’s handpicked successor, but mass protests pressured him into resuming direct elections in the country. Chun moved to a Buddhist monastery, while Roh won at the ballot box fair and square – as his left-wing opponents failed to agree on a single candidate. Taking office as a civilian, he surpassed Roh in bribe-taking.
Both former leaders were reportedly offered assurances of personal safety in exchange for the military accepting democratization. Both were later sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the bribes – estimated at over $200 million for each – and both were released early. South Korea’s political tradition has since been to target retired presidents, whenever the nation’s right-wing and left-wing political camps trade places at the helm.
The two who didn’t go to jail themselves
The two Kims (not relatives) served their terms and were never prosecuted – unlike their family members. Kim Young-sam’s son, Kim Hyun-chul, was sentenced for influence peddling. Kim Dae-jung’s sons Kim Hong-up and Kim Hong-gul were found guilty of taking bribes. All three prosecutions took place while the defendants’ respective fathers were still in office.
The one hunted to death
Former President Roh Moo-hyun’s family was targeted by corruption investigations. Amid the pressure, Roh fell from a cliff in 2009 in what was broadly acknowledged to be a suicide. The consensus in South Korea is that whatever crimes he and his relatives may have committed should be buried and rest in peace.
The one who confirmed the rule
Prosecuted around the same time as his fellow right-wing successor, Lee Myung-bak, was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power and spent about two years in jail.
The one out of place
The daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, Park Geun-hye was the first South Korean president to be impeached and also to spend more time behind bars – five years – than her peers in the top job. Believed to have been dragged into politics due to her ancestry rather than political acumen, she was sentenced on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
The one expected to get away
While he was investigated for possible crimes after retiring, Moon Jae-in appears to have every chance to escape the South Korean presidential curse.
The one out of his time
Yoon Suk-yeol’s attempt to justify a military coup, doomed to fail spectacularly, seemed like a throwback to South Korea’s dictatorial past. Seemingly convinced that he was battling a clandestine plot orchestrated by Pyongyang – and failing to provide any evidence of it – Yoon’s tenacity helped him recover his popularity among right-wingers. Setting this human rolling cannon free to unleash chaos among his political opponents in a few years would be a deviously smart ploy for left-wing President Lee Jae-myung.