SEOUL: Suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will receive a scheduled pay rise, official documents showed on Monday, despite an impeachment trial and investigation into his ill-fated martial law declaration. Yoon suspended civilian rule on Dec 3, sending soldiers into parliament and plunging South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades. He was forced to backtrack hours later.

He has been impeached by lawmakers and is awaiting a final Constitutional Court ruling that could finalise his removal from office, while separately facing an insurrection probe with investigators seeking to detain him for questioning. However, Yoon was given a raise, according to the civil servant salary table for 2025, even as he remains holed up in the presidential residence using his security detail to resist arrest. The document from the Ministry of Personnel Management indicates Yoon’s salary will rise to 262.6 million won ($178,400) -— a three per cent raise compared with last year.

Yoon is only suspended from duty because the impeachment motion is still being deliberated by the Constitutional Court, so he retains his status as president and will be able to receive his salary and security benefits.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025