Korean academics lead calls for controversial president to resign

Academics at some of Korea’s most prestigious universities have joined calls for the country’s unpopular president to step down.

More than 500 professors at Seoul National University (SNU), the alma mater of Yoon Suk Yeol, put their name to a statement demanding the scandal-ridden leader resign, The Korea Herald reported. 

“Democracy has collapsed and regression and retrogression are serious in all areas,” the statement reads. “President Yoon must step down as soon as possible. His resignation is absolutely necessary for the future of Korean society.”

They also say that SNU students are “expressing shame in sharing their alma mater” with Mr Yoon. 

The academics joined a growing movement across Korean universities, where faculty have been at the forefront of criticisms of the president. 

It follows a series of corruption allegations linked to Mr Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, including accusations that she was involved in a stock manipulation scheme, and his perceived poor handling of the country’s economy and a fatal crowd crush in Seoul in October that killed 159 people. 

University professors began speaking out against Mr Yoon in October 2024, starting at Gachon University. Since then, academics at other universities including Korea University, Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University have joined the calls, with an estimated 4,000 participating in declarations. 

Mr Yoon held a televised press conference at the start of November to apologise for the controversies surrounding his leadership, but it has done little to quell criticisms.

The president's approval rating fell to 19 per cent in late November according to polls, the lowest since he was elected in May 2022. 

“What the Yoon Suk Yeol administration showed us during the first half of his term was incompetence, irresponsibility and reckless use of power,” professors from Yonsei University wrote in a statement. 

Similarly, academics at Ewha Women’s University said: “We are furious. Step down immediately. During the two-and-a-half years of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the foundation of a democratic republic has been shaken and people’s livelihoods have been destroyed by the endless incompetence of the president and a series of scandals and suspicions surrounding the president and his family.” 

The president’s party, the People Power Party, suffered a resounding defeat in parliamentary elections earlier this year, with a row over medical school places exacerbating concerns around the government’s leadership. Mr Yoon remained as president but, as a result, now has limited power to enact reforms. 

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com