South Koreans took to the streets on Dec 4 for a day of rage laser-focused on President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose failed attempt at imposing martial law sparked anger and dismay in the vibrant democracy.
The streets of Seoul teemed with protesters and police throughout the day as labour unions called a general strike and the opposition demanded Mr Yoon step down and face charges of insurrection.
Outside the National Assembly, where just hours earlier lawmakers voted to block Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration, the crowd was united in their wrath against the conservative former prosecutor.
“It was a self-coup, intended to protect himself and his wife,” one man shouted – a reference to the myriad scandals that have engulfed First Lady Kim Keon-hee since Mr Yoon’s tenure began in 2022.
With few signs of fatigue from a sleepless night in which they feared Mr Yoon was attempting to reverse decades of democratic progress, the crowd waved multicoloured signs and sang South Korea’s national anthem.
Opposition politician Cho Kuk accused Mr Yoon of having “attempted a coup through treason, military rebellion and violations of constitutional and legal provisions”.
Former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung – who live-streamed his late-night vault over a fence to get into the Parliament – hailed “citizens who risked their lives, ready to face bullets” to defy the martial law declaration.
Opposition lawmakers followed up the event by submitting a motion to impeach Mr Yoon, which requires the support of two-thirds of the Parliament and at least six Constitutional Court judges.
The motion says Yoon “gravely and extensively violated the constitution and the law” and accuses him of imposing martial law “with the unconstitutional and illegal intent to evade imminent investigations… into alleged illegal acts involving himself and his family”.
Lawmakers could vote on the motion as soon as the early hours of Friday morning and Yoon’s prospects look bleak.
The opposition holds a large majority in the 300-member parliament and needs only a handful of defections from the president’s party to secure the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion.
In a show of public anger against the president, thousands of protesters converged around his office in central Seoul on Wednesday evening after staging a rally in Gwanghwamun Square, demanding Yoon quit. AFP
