A look at the South Korean leader who has been impeached after shocking martial law edict

South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, a stunning fall from grace for a man who rose from political obscurity to the height of political power. His decades of achievement could be on the verge of crumbling due to a single, baffling decision to send out troops under martial law over vague claims that one of Asia’s leading democracies was under threat. Yoon, a staunch conservative and longtime prosecutor, went from political novice to president of South Korea in 2022, sweeping into power after disaffection with five years of liberal rule that saw failed efforts to win a peace deal with North Korea and a slackening economy.