 "Why is South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol getting a pay hike?")
They say it’s good to be King – but it’s arguably even better to be president.
Just as Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, who is set to get a pay hike.
But what do we know about this? And why is this happening?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know?
As per Korea Times, President Yoon Suk Yeol will receive an annual salary of $178,071 (Rs 1.54 crore) in 2025.
This is a three per cent hike over 2024.
This is in line with the pay of other public officials in Korea, as per the Ministry of Personnel Management.
Yoon’s salary in 2024 was at Rs 1.49 crore.
Yoon in 2025 will get Rs 12.84 lakh every month – before taxes.
Yoon, for the next six months, will make Rs 76 lakh despite not performing any presidential duties.
Interestingly, Han Duck-soo, who became acting president, has also been impeached .
As per BBC, Han’s salary in 2025 will increase to Rs 1.19 crore.
The US president, by comparison, gets Rs 3.46 crore per year, while the UK Prime Minister gets Rs 1.80 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets a yearly salary of just under Rs 20 lakh.
Why is this happening?
Because Yoon , despite being impeached, has still not officially been removed as president.
As per BBC, Yoon is suspended until the country’s Constitutional Court decides his fate.
The court has six months to decide whether or not to uphold Yoon’s impeachment or send it back to the National Assembly.
“There must be a legal basis to limit the payment of remuneration,” an official from the ministry’s human resources department told Korea Times. “There is currently no basis for restrictions, and impeachment is stipulated in the Constitution, so the salary is paid as it is.”
If the impeachment is upheld, Yoon will immediately be stripped of all presidential privileges.
Yoon has a lot more to lose this just his salary.
As per CebuDailyNews, South Korea’s presidents get 95 per cent of their salary for the rest of their lives after they demit office.
Other benefits include three secretaries and a private driver – all designated government officials – as well as money to keep a private office running.
Security, transportation and communication are also paid for by the taxpayer.
But not everyone is content to wait for the Constitutional Court’s decision.
“Minimum wage increased by 1.7% while [Yoon gets] 3% for what?” read a post on X which received thousands of likes.
Korea Times reported that Representative Park Yong-kab of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has suggested cutting the salary for impeached public officials.
DPK Representative Yoon Joon-byeong also proposed cutting the salary of impeached public officials by up to 50 percent.
As per CebuDailyNews, ex-president Moon Jae-in continues to receive his pension after resigning in May 2022.
However, ex-president Park Geun-hye does not receive any pension as her impeachment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
Ex-president Lee Myung-bak, who served from February 2008 to February 2013, also lost his pension after a bribery conviction.
Lee, who was also given to 17 years in prison, was by Yoon in December 2022.
With inputs from agencies
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