SEOUL: Yoon Suk Yeol was a star public prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader before moving to politics and being elected South Korean president as a politician novice in 2022.

But the Midas touch has gone and, after a poor showing by his People Power Party (PPP) in parliamentary elections on Wednesday, Yoon looks condemned to serve out his remaining three years as a lame duck.

Born in Seoul in 1960, Yoon studied law and was later instrumental in former president Park Geun-hye being convicted of abuse of power.

As the country's top prosecutor in 2019, he also indicted a top aide of outgoing president Moon Jae-in in a fraud and bribery case that tarnished that administration's image.

The conservative PPP, in opposition at the time, liked what they saw and convinced Yoon to become their presidential candidate.

He duly won, beating Lee Jae-myung - now head of the Democratic Party (DP), the main winner in Wednesday's election - but by the narrowest margin in South Korean history.

But he was never much loved, and a series of scandals - including his administration's handling of the deadly Halloween crush of 2022 - have further eroded his popularity.

Critics have blamed Yoon's administration for food inflation, a lagging economy, and increasing constraints on freedom of speech.

He was also accused of abusing presidential vetoes, notably to strike down a bill that would have paved the way for a special investigation into his wife's alleged involvement in stock manipulation.

Yoon suffered further reputational damage last year when his wife was secretly filmed accepting a designer handbag worth US$2,000 as a gift. Yoon insisted it would have been rude to refuse.

His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, is serving a one-year prison sentence for forging financial documents in a real estate deal. She is due to be released in July.

On the campaign trail for this week's election, a damaging gaffe saw him refer to the "reasonable" cost of green onions, a staple in Korean cooking that has soared in price.

The comment made him look badly out of touch, and the vegetable became a mascot at DP election rallies.

The opposition increased their majority in Wednesday's election but missed out on a supermajority which would have enabled them to try and impeach Yoon.

But the president remains in a precarious position, and even runs the risk of being jettisoned by factions within his own party.

"Opposition parties can now effectively stall the president's efforts to advance his preferred policies and will try to advance their own agenda," Linda Hasunuma, a political scientist at Temple University, told AFP.

"This could potentially lead to greater delays and gridlock within the national legislature," she said.

"This election is a yes/no vote on his performance and agenda, and the response was a resounding no."

Local media have reported that Yoon is particularly inspired by British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.

As president, Yoon has maintained a tough stance against Pyongyang and bolstered ties with Seoul's traditional ally, the United States.

Last year, he famously sang Don McLean's "American Pie" during his visit to the White House, to which US President Joe Biden responded, "I had no damn idea you could sing."

But his efforts to restore ties with South Korea's former colonial ruler, Japan, did not sit well with many at home, as the issue remains sensitive in the country.

Now, the DP is likely to aggressively challenge Yoon's approach towards Tokyo and Washington, experts say.

The possible return of former US president Donald Trump - who had historic but ultimately failed summits with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un while in office - can create another layer of tension, they say.

"If Trump were to re-engage with North Korea, for instance, then the Yoon government will have to make a decision on whether to shift from its hardline policies against the North," Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP.

"If not, this could create friction between Washington and Seoul.

On the other hand, if Trump supports Yoon's hardline policies against North Korea, then this can create more tensions on the Korean peninsula."

 - AFP