Overview

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Arrest refers to the arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol, former South Korean President, in mid-January 2025 following a politically charged situation surrounding his declaration of martial law in December 2024. This incident marked a significant event in South Korea's political landscape, leading to widespread protests and social unrest. His arrest notably sparked several discussions on social media in the following days, as well as memes and parodies regarding Yoon's imprisonment.

Background

On January 14th, 2025, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was officially arrested after a tense standoff at his official residence in Seoul. His arrest was connected to his controversial declaration of martial law on December 3rd, 2024, which spurred public protests and was ultimately blocked by the South Korean parliament.

According to The Guardian,^[1] Yoon’s actions led to significant public backlash, turning his detention into "the first sitting president in the country’s history to be arrested." The X^[2] page @PopBase posted a picture of Yoon to announce his arrest on the same day, which garnered over 4 million views and 85,000 likes in a day.

Also on January 14th, BBC^[2] posted a video on YouTube^[3] explaining how South Korea's police had previously tried to arrest Yoon on January 3rd, 2025, but failed to do so after being locked in an hours-long stand-off with members of the Presidential Security Service (PSS). The video (seen below) amassed more than 53,000 views and 780 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

Following Yoon's arrest, social media exploded with reactions, memes and discussions surrounding the political crisis in South Korea as word of his detainment continued to spread and receive news coverage.

For example, on January 15th, 2025, X^[4] user @mmpadellan compared Yoon's impeachment and arrest with the impeachment attempts on U.S. President Donald Trump. The tweet (seen below) gained over 5,000 likes and 1,600 reposts in a few hours.

The online discourse about the South Korean President's arrest also became a viral topic on Reddit, as the u/cnbc_official^[5] account shared a picture of Yoon being escorted inside a police vehicle, writing, "Yoon Suk Yeol arrested as agencies probe his short-lived martial law decree." The post (seen below) amassed roughly 1,900 upvotes and 50 comments in a few hours.

Also on January 15th, 2025, TikTok^[6] user @jinwoopark0721 posted a video explaining Yoon's arrest (seen below), which garnered roughly 63,000 plays and 5,400 likes in a few hours.

Search Interest

External References