Yoon returns home, undeterred after impeachment

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol vacated the official residence in Hannam-dong on April 11 and returned to his private home in Seocho-dong, a week after being removed from office by the Constitutional Court. Greeted by cheering supporters, he appeared more like a triumphant general than a disgraced leader. Yoon told residents waiting outside his home, “There’s nothing to worry about. I came back after winning everything,” and downplayed his removal from office by saying, “Three years or five, what difference does it make?”

The Korean public has grown weary of Yoon’s distorted view of reality, laid bare throughout the impeachment proceedings that followed the December 3 martial law crisis. Yet his delusional claims after being removed from office leave the nation speechless once again. Even in his farewell message upon leaving the residence, Yoon suggested he would pursue a “new path for the country and the people,” without offering an apology to the public or acknowledging the court’s ruling.

There was no sign of remorse for the damage and turmoil caused during the past four months. Nor did he show the slightest sense of responsibility as a former head of state. Instead, Yoon clung to self-justifying rhetoric, which can only be described as the height of delusional triumphalism. As a former prosecutor-turned-president who believed in nothing but winning through conflict, Yoon left a bleak legacy for Korean politics. Now, he even denies his own failure, which future political forces must overcome and correct, insisting instead that he was victorious. It is a bitter spectacle.

What makes Yoon an unabashed and unrepentant “king” figure is the aides and politicians still clinging to the political influence he may continue to wield. Upon his departure from the residence, Yoon was seen embracing young people wearing college department jackets, reportedly mobilized at the request of the presidential office. As long as political strategists remain by his side and ruling party hopefuls continue to seek his support in the primaries, Yoon’s backroom politics from his private residence will likely escalate.

Yoon is scheduled to appear in court on April 14 as a defendant charged with leading a rebellion. The court has allowed him to use the underground parking lot and banned filming of him at the defendant’s seat, a stark contrast to past presidents who faced trial under public scrutiny. Given that his arrest was canceled based on counting detention time by the hour, not the day, and with special privileges now stacking up, many see this as apparent favoritism. With his words carrying no weight, the only thing left for the impeached president is to face justice through the due legal process.