SEOUL: The annual salary of suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol has risen 3 per cent in 2025, according to the Ministry of Personnel Management on Sunday (Jan 12).
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 (US$9,800).
His annual salary for 2025 has been set at 262.6 million won, up 3 per cent from 254.9 million won in 2024. This adjustment was made in line with the annual salary rise for government officials, which also rose by 3 per cent.
Yoon has been suspended from his duties since Dec 14, 2024, when the National Assembly passed an impeachment Bill against him 11 days after his botched martial law declaration.
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.
If the Bill is upheld, he will instantly be stripped of a list of privileges.
Under the law, presidents are entitled to 95 per cent 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.
Former president Moon Jae-in has been receiving a pension since he left office in May 2022. On the other hand, former president Park Geun-hye, impeached in 2017, does not 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, 2024, 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.
The 2025 annual salary rise for government officials marks the highest since 2017, when it was 3.5 per cent. - The Korea Herald/ANN
