South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor who made his name taking down a president, must now show he can govern as one.
Yoon took office Tuesday as South Korea’s eighth elected president since full democracy in 1987, facing daunting challenges from a COVID-ravaged economy to increasing weapons tests by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The conservative must overcome a hostile legislature, a lack of diplomatic experience and historically low popularity for an incoming elected leader in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
"I solemnly pledge today that I will do my utmost to elevate Korea into a country that truly belongs to the people, a country based on the pillars of freedom, human rights, fairness and solidarity,” Yoon said in his inauguration speech delivered from the front steps of the National Assembly on a sunny Tuesday to a crowd of several thousand people.
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