eu9 Suspended South Korean president Yoon gets annual salary raise

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

The annual salary of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol has risen 3 percent this year, according to the Ministry of Personnel Management on Sunday.

The president, facing both trial at the Constitutional Court to confirm his impeachment and a separate investigation for allegedly leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power, now gets a monthly salary of 14.5 million won ($9,836) per month.

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The president’s annual salary for 2025 has been set at 262.6 million won, up 3 percent from 254.9 million won in 2024. This adjustment was made in line with the annual salary raise for government officials, which also rose by 3 percent.

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Yoon has been suspended from his duties since Dec. 14, when the National Assembly passed an impeachment bill against him 11 days after his botched martial law declaration.

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Despite being suspended from power, Yoon remains eligible for the salary as he retains his status as president until the Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment bill. The court has been reviewing the bill, with a six-month deadline.

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If the impeachment bill is upheld, he will instantly be stripped of a list of privileges.

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Under the law, presidents are entitled to 95 percent of their salary for the rest of their lives after leaving office. This benefit includes three secretaries and a private driver, all classified as government officials, along with financial funding for operating a private office and additional services such as security, transportation and communication, deemed essential for former presidents.

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Currently, former President Moon Jae-in is getting a pension following his resignation on May 9, 2022. On the other hand, former President Park Geun-hye, impeached in 2017, doesn’t receive any pension due to her impeachment in December 2016. Similarly, former President Lee Myung-bak, who served from February 2008 to February 2013, lost his right to a pension after being convicted of bribery in 2018. Lee, initially sentenced to 17 years in prison, was pardoned in December 2022 by Yoon.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok, meanwhile, continues to receive the annual salary of his original, concurrently held position, deputy prime minister: 154 million won. Former acting President Han Duck-soo, who was also suspended with the National Assembly’s vote to impeach him on Dec. 27, also still receives his salary as concurrent prime minister: 203.5 million won. But if the Constitutional Court rules to confirm the Assembly’s impeachment vote, he will also be stripped of his privileges as a prime minister.

Preliminary data from the BSP showed that net income rose to P95.2 billion as of end-July, up by 414 percent from the P18.5 billion in the same period last year.

It was a reference to the notorious “behest loans” granted to individuals or corporations favored by powerful government officials.

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This year’s annual salary raise for government officials marks the highest since 2017eu9, when it was 3.5 percent.

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