Tens of thousands of people staged rallies in South Korea’s Seoul on Saturday, either demanding the ouster or reinstatement of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his short-lived martial law invocation in December.
Both sides called on the Constitutional Court for a prompt ruling on Yoon’s impeachment trial, as the court has yet to announce its ruling date on the case.
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An estimated 15,000 protesters gathered near Gyeongbok Palace, holding up picket signs demanding Yoon’s “immediate ouster” and chanting “End insurrection and embrace a new world.”
Police blocked traffic in nearby lanes.
“What the Constitutional Court must uphold is the safeguarding of democracy on this land and a ruling for an ouster,” Kim Jae-ha, a leader of the civic group behind the rally, said.
“There are limits to public sentiment. The Constitutional Court will be kicked out of the public’s heart if warnings against it accumulate,” he said.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and four other opposition parties also staged a separate rally in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, where DP floor leader Park Chan-dae declared: “Where Yoon should be is in prison. He will attempt martial law again if he is not ousted.”
On Yoon’s side, an estimated 23,000 people gathered in central Seoul for what has become a regular weekend rally, denouncing his impeachment as “null and void,” and demanding a Constitutional Court ruling in his favour.
The protesters had planned to stage a mass march toward the Constitutional Court but canceled it due to safety concerns.
Save Korea, a Christian civic group, hosted a separate rally near the National Assembly in the western Seoul area of Yeouido, attended by about 3,000 participants, including several lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party, Yonhap news agency reported.
Taking the podium, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun accused the Constitutional Court of dereliction of its duties for failing to set a date for Yoon’s impeachment ruling, demanding the court “not delay and deliver its ruling next week.”
