Members cheer at a rally close to the Constitutional Courtroom as former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment is introduced in Seoul, April 4. Korea Instances picture by Choi Gained-suk
Korea’s political and social panorama was turned the wrong way up in 2025, because the nation noticed a president ousted, his longtime rival swept into energy and key establishments pushed to their limits at residence and overseas.
Koreans lived by means of a yr of excessive drama that redefined the stability of energy in Seoul and reshaped the nation’s function on the worldwide stage. On the similar time, crises starting from a paralyzing state information middle fireplace to mass detention of Korean engineers in america uncovered the vulnerabilities that accompany Korea’s standing as a hyperconnected, export-driven democracy.
Past politics, 2025 additionally laid naked the human price of transnational crime and technological change. Rescue operations for Koreans trapped in Cambodian rip-off compounds, fierce debate over abolishing the prosecution’s headquarters and a surge of synthetic intelligence (AI)-driven dishonest at high universities all pressured arduous questions on accountability, ethics and the rule of legislation.
In the meantime, the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, a inexperienced mild for nuclear-powered submarines and bitter recollections of the Georgia incident confirmed how Korea’s home selections are more and more intertwined with international safety and financial competitors.
Listed here are 10 pivotal moments that outlined Korea’s political and social panorama in 2025.
President Lee Jae Myung raises his hand throughout a presidential public appointment ceremony at Gwanghwamun Sq. in Seoul, Aug. 15. Joint Press Corps
Lee Jae Myung elected president
Lee Jae Myung, the previous chief of the liberal Democratic Celebration of Korea, was elected president in a snap vote on June 3, profitable 49.42 % of the ballots forged and defeating his conservative rival, Kim Moon-soo, who secured 41.15 %. Lee set a brand new electoral document with 17.29 million votes, buoyed by sturdy assist in Seoul and decisive margins in key swing areas such because the Chungcheong provinces.
His victory got here three years after he narrowly misplaced to Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022 and adopted Yoon’s impeachment and removing over his martial legislation declaration final December and 6 months of political turmoil and management vacuum.
Lee’s election produced a unified authorities, aligning the presidency with a Democratic Celebration of Korea (DPK)-controlled Nationwide Meeting and concentrating substantial governing energy in liberal palms.
He started his five-year time period the day after the vote, assuming full presidential authority instantly because of the early election and forgoing the standard 60-day transition. Lee pledged to be a “president for all,” vowing to heal polarization, strengthen democracy and stop any repeat of tried rebel.
Ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his first listening to on fees of obstructing official duties and abusing energy at Seoul Central District Courtroom in Seocho District, Seoul, Sept. 26. Yoon turned the primary sitting president to be arrested and faraway from workplace. Yonhap
Yoon falls from energy in historic impeachment case
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was faraway from workplace on April 3 after the Constitutional Courtroom upheld the Nationwide Meeting’s impeachment in a unanimous 8-0 ruling, for gravely violating the Structure and denying common sovereignty and democracy. The choice got here 111 days after the Meeting handed its impeachment movement in opposition to Yoon on Dec. 14, 2024, accusing him of treason for declaring martial legislation on Dec. 3.
The ruling emphasised that Yoon’s use of martial legislation couldn’t be justified by political turmoil and as a substitute amounted to an unconstitutional try and suppress dissent and weaken institutional checks and balances.
The decision triggered each celebrations and anger, laying naked deep partisan divisions whereas underscoring the judiciary’s resolve to restrain government outreach. Because the resolution, prosecutors have continued wide-ranging prison investigations into Yoon over potential fees of rebel and abuse of energy.
The case marked the third impeachment of a Korean president and have become a serious take a look at of the nation’s democratic establishments and public resistance to authoritarian management.
President Lee Jae Myung, entrance row fourth from left, shakes palms with Chinese language President Xi Jinping, entrance row third from left, throughout the 2025 Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Nov. 1. Yonhap
Gyeongju rewrites Asia-Pacific playbook
The APEC summit, held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, introduced leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies to Gyeongju. Korea led the adoption of the Gyeongju Declaration, which for the primary time in an APEC leaders’ assertion explicitly acknowledged cultural and inventive industries as a brand new progress engine.
For Korea, essentially the most consequential outcomes of the summit included language backing resilient provide chains for semiconductors and batteries, expanded funding in inexperienced industries, and deeper cooperation on cultural content material.
President Lee’s pragmatic diplomacy, by means of balancing ties with each america and China whereas specializing in financial positive factors, helped safe consensus on the declaration and bolstered Korea’s picture as a reputable bridge-builder.
The occasion was additionally a cultural showcase for Gyeongju, with mild exhibits at historic websites, expanded tourism applications and branding that introduced the traditional capital of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) as a “metropolis of peace” and a mannequin for integrating heritage with innovation.
President Lee Jae Myung walks with U.S. President Donald Trump previous a reproduction of the Cheonmachong Tomb gold crown at Gyeongju Nationwide Museum, Oct. 29. The duplicate was introduced to Trump as a state go to present. Yonhap
Seoul to develop nuclear submarines
U.S. President Donald Trump stated in October that he had given Korea approval to construct its first nuclear-powered submarine, following President Lee’s request for assist in securing gasoline for such vessels at their summit in Gyeongju.
Korean protection officers stated that the envisioned submarine, possible weighing over 5,000 tons, would use uranium enriched under 20 % and considerably strengthen deterrence in opposition to North Korea’s increasing nuclear capabilities.
The Navy chief estimated it could take roughly 10 years after a proper resolution for Korea to deploy its first nuclear submarine, whereas the Ministry of Nationwide Protection stated the nation ought to ultimately area not less than 4 such boats, probably extra.
All through November and December, the protection ministry and the presidential Nationwide Safety Workplace arrange job forces and mapped out negotiations with Washington on reactor gasoline, uranium enrichment and gasoline reprocessing, in search of to conclude key talks inside two years.
Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia till a crackdown on prison compounds are repatriated by means of Terminal 2 at Incheon Worldwide Airport, Oct. 18. Korea Instances picture by Choi Joo-yeon
Koreans rescued from Cambodia crime rings
Korea mounted an emergency operation in October to rescue and repatriate nationals caught up in Cambodia’s industrial-scale on-line rip-off rings, following the torture and dying of a Korean school scholar lured there by bogus job provides.
Sixty-four Koreans detained in connection to their complicity or victimization in on-line scams had been flown residence on a chartered flight on Oct. 17, in what officers known as the nation’s largest single repatriation from one international nation. Many had voluntarily joined the schemes however later discovered themselves unable to go away the crime hub, and confronted investigations for his or her roles in telephone and romance scams after their return.
Separate police and diplomatic efforts led to the rescue of smaller teams, and as of December a complete of 107 nationals suspected of involvement in on-line scams had been repatriated from Cambodia as a part of a pan-government crackdown that started in October.
Officers stated roughly 1,000 Koreans had been believed to be linked to Cambodian rip-off operations.
Staff of a Hyundai Motor-LG Vitality Answer battery plant development website, arrested in an immigration raid, go away a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Folkston, Ga., to go to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport, Sept. 11. Yonhap
Georgia raid shocks Korea as engineers detained
U.S. immigration authorities detained round 300 Korean nationals working for Hyundai Motor Group associates and LG Vitality Answer throughout a Sept. 4 raid on a development website for the 2 Korean corporations’ joint electrical automobile (EV) battery plant within the U.S. state of Georgia. Many had been engineers and subcontractor technicians who had entered america on B-1 enterprise visas or beneath the ESTA waiver program to put in specialised gear and prepare native staff as a part of the multibillion-dollar undertaking.
Seoul’s international ministry expressed remorse, summoned U.S. diplomats and warned that the mass detention of staff from an allied nation may injury public belief and disrupt strategic funding within the U.S. EV provide chain.
A lot of the detained Korean engineers returned residence on a chartered flight on Sept. 12, eight days after the raid, beneath a voluntary departure association that allowed them to keep away from formal deportation and potential long-term visa bans.
The incident scarred public opinion in Korea, as pictures of shackled Korean engineers fueled rising considerations in regards to the U.S.
Unification Church chief Han Hak-ja arrives for a listening to on her arrest warrant at Seoul Central District Courtroom in Seocho District, Seoul, Sept. 22. Korea Instances picture by Park Si-mon
Unification Church’s political ties uncovered
Allegations that the Unification Church illegally funneled cash into politics shook the institution this yr and are anticipated to reverberate into subsequent yr.
The group’s chief, Han Hak-ja, was detained in September on allegations that she offered luxurious items to former first girl Kim Keon Hee by means of an middleman in 2022, in alternate for favorable therapy of the church’s operations.
The controversy widened in December to incorporate members of the ruling Democratic Celebration of Korea. A former senior Unification Church official testified that the group sought contact with the celebration in 2022. The allegations later reached the Cupboard, prompting Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Chun Jae-soo to step down over claims that he had accepted church funds, which he has denied.
Police at the moment are investigating the Unification Church, visiting its Seoul headquarters in Yongsan District and different websites in December to seek for and confiscate proof.
A flag of the prosecution service flutters in entrance of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Workplace in Seocho District, Seoul, Oct. 26. Korea Instances picture by Min Kyung-seok
Prosecution’s headquarters dismantled after 78 years
Korea moved to abolish its centralized prosecution workplace this yr as a part of President Lee Jae Myung’s flagship pledge to rein in prosecutorial energy and finish what he known as politically motivated investigations.
The DPK used its supermajority within the Nationwide Meeting to push by means of a sweeping authorities reorganization invoice that dismantled the Supreme Prosecutors’ Workplace 78 years after its institution, regardless of fierce resistance from the conservative opposition. After a one-year transition interval, two new our bodies — finishing up break up investigation and indictment features — will substitute the prosecution’s headquarters.
Supporters hailed the overhaul as a milestone for democracy and a long-overdue verify on overpowered prosecutors, whereas critics warned it may focus investigative energy beneath the manager department.
The Cupboard finalized the timetable on Sept. 30, confirming that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Workplace shall be shut down in October subsequent yr and its authority totally transferred to the brand new companies the next day.
The principle gate of Yonsei College stands in western Seoul’s Seodaemun District, Dec. 1, 2024 / Newsis
Korea’s high campuses rocked by AI cheating
Korean universities confronted a wave of AI-linked dishonest scandals this yr, with college students at elite faculties caught utilizing instruments comparable to ChatGPT to generate examination solutions and assignments.
Mass dishonest instances included incidents the place roughly half of a category at Seoul Nationwide College had been suspected of sharing AI-generated responses and the place round 190 college students in a Yonsei College course had been accused of dishonest on a web based midterm, with many admitting using generative AI regardless of express bans.
In response, universities rushed to tighten evaluation guidelines by transferring key exams again to an in-person format, growing the variety of questions, including strict closing dates and deploying AI-based plagiarism detection instruments.
The federal government joined the push by drafting the nation’s first AI ethics tips for universities, which is able to spell out permitted makes use of of AI, outline tutorial misconduct and nudge faculties towards extra uniform insurance policies.
Firefighters transfer burned lithium-ion batteries into a fireplace suppression tank on the Nationwide Info Assets Service in Daejeon, Sept. 27, on this picture offered by the Prime Minister’s Workplace. A fireplace had broke out on the facility earlier that day. Newsis
Information middle fireplace exposes fragility of digital infrastructure
A significant fireplace broke out on Sept. 26 on the authorities’s principal information middle in Daejeon after a lithium-ion battery exploded in a fifth-floor server room. The blaze, which took practically 22 hours to totally extinguish, destroyed tons of of batteries and disabled tons of of on-line techniques supporting Korea’s e-government infrastructure, together with petition platforms and postal, welfare and customs techniques.
Roughly 1 / 4 of affected companies had been again on-line 13 days after the hearth, about one-third by mid-October and practically 90 % by the top of the month, as authorities shifted broken techniques to a backup middle in Daegu.
The incident fueled criticism that the nation had not realized the teachings of the 2022 Kakao information middle fireplace.
In November, the pinnacle of the state information middle was faraway from his submit, and officers vowed a “basic redesign” of Korea’s digital authorities by diversifying information storage and lowering vulnerability to single-point failures.
