Home > Opinion > Columns

The scarlet letter of the name 'Yoon Suk Yeol'

Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 00:04

Im Jang-hyuk

The author is a lawyer and the head of the political news department at the JoongAng Ilbo.

“He’s unquestionably an ace. But his résumé has been stained by the name ‘Yoon Suk Yeol.’”

That was the response from a senior official in the Lee Jae Myung administration when asked about the prospects of a department director at the same agency. The official, speaking candidly, explained that the director, identified here as A, hails from the Honam region in Gwangju, South Jeolla, and has never been close to the conservative mainstream. Yet his abilities were recognized, and during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, he was promoted faster than his peers and placed in a key post. That advancement has now turned into a scarlet letter, leaving his future in public service impossible to predict.

The exterior of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking officials on Jan. 22. [YONHAP]

“There’s no evidence he personally did anything wrong,” the official said. “He’s such a capable person that we’d like to use him anywhere. But he’s been categorized as pro-Yoon, so our hands are tied.” The tone carried a sense of regret.

A two-month campaign by ministries to identify civil servants who had contributed to the alleged insurrection, carried out under so-called constitutional respect task forces, wrapped up in mid-January. Yet as the delayed personnel season unfolds, agencies are awash in stories of officials who find themselves in situations similar to A’s. “They’re capable, but …” is the refrain. The prosecution service has been hit particularly hard. Even officials who received no special favors under the previous government face exclusion from promotion or reassignment if they once worked with former President Yoon Suk Yeol or former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon. Expressing loyalty to the policy line of the Lee Jae Myung administration is not enough to erase the stigma.

Since the Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of emergency martial law, mass complaints and audit requests filed by the Democratic Party have left many career civil servants across ministries under investigation or inspection for more than a year. Many of them, like officials later cleared of involvement in the state capture scandal during the Moon Jae-in administration or those made scapegoats in probes into the nuclear phaseout policy under the Yoon-era prosecution, will likely one day be declared innocent. That recognition may come only after their careers are destroyed and their families exhausted, emotionally and physically.

An official familiar with investigative agencies, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, said that after conducting searches and summons, investigators often find it impossible to link cases to senior figures within their jurisdiction. “In the end, they have to hand cases over to the National Police Agency,” the official said, “but the police already have hundreds of cases dumped on them by three special prosecutors.” In plain terms, countless elite civil servants are left adrift for years, unable even to resign, despite their confidence in their innocence. Many of them never spoke directly to Yoon and held positions far removed from the center of power. They are nevertheless top performers whose contributions to their agencies and work have been substantial.

The predicament of career officials within investigative bodies, who must decide the social fate of these civil servants, is also understandable. Given the still brutal political climate within the ruling camp, it would be difficult for them to close cases tied to the previous government on grounds of insufficient evidence or to forgo appeals, even when the rule of law would justify such decisions. Doing so could jeopardize their own future postings.

At this point, the face that comes to mind is President Lee Jae Myung. He is someone who has felt the injustice of being targeted by investigations from all sides. He is also the leader who retained Song Mi-ryeong as minister despite her attendance at a cabinet meeting on martial law and who once sought to appoint Lee Hye-hoon, associated with the “Yoon again” camp, as the first minister of budget. No one understands better than Lee how dust-collecting investigations and prosecutions lacking solid evidence can devastate individuals and their families. He has declared his intention to be not a president of grievance, but a president for everyone.

Song Mi-ryeong, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs retained under the Lee Jae Myung administration, answers lawmakers’ questions at a full meeting of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on June 25, 2025. [YONHAP]

Lee has repeatedly voiced frustration in cabinet meetings over delays in administrative action on issues he has raised. Yet in an environment where proactive governance can instantly be rebranded as abuse of authority after a change in administration, it is unrealistic to expect civil servants to devote themselves to economic recovery, industrial development and the national interest. The Moon Jae-in administration’s failure to meet public expectations owed much to more than three years of aggressive “eradication of past evils” that froze the civil service. In that period, survival depended not on competence or performance, but on connections and political instincts. A similar cycle of reform is now being repeated.

If the government wants things to work, if it hopes civil servants will once again run hard for the public good, the leadership must redefine the standards, methods and scope of ending the insurrection. At a minimum, it must create an atmosphere in which investigative bodies can boldly close cases lacking evidence and send a stronger signal that those found innocent will be evaluated and appointed based on ability and performance. Only then will the sense of injustice ease, for the president and for the public alike.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.