SEOUL (Reuters) – Demonstrators supporting and opposing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held rival protests several hundred meters apart in Seoul on Saturday, a week after he was charged over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
Yoon’s powers as president are suspended, but he remains in office. He has failed to comply with multiple subpoenas from authorities investigating whether the martial law he imposed late on Dec. 3 and lifted hours later constituted an insurrection.
He also did not respond to attempts to contact him by the Constitutional Court, which decides whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential powers. The court plans to hold its first preliminary hearing on Friday.
Saturday’s pro- and anti-Yoon protests took place in Gwanghwamun, in the heart of the capital. There were no clashes as of 4:00 p.m. (0700 GMT).
Tens of thousands of anti-Yoon protesters, mostly people in their 20s and 30s, gathered around 3 p.m., waving K-pop glow sticks and signs with slogans like “Arrest! Lock up! Insurrection chief Yoon Suk Yeol” to catchy K-pop music.
“I wanted to ask Yoon how he could do this to a democracy in the 21st century, and I think if he really has a conscience, he should resign,” said 27-year-old Cho Sung-hyo.
Several thousand pro-Yoon protesters had gathered since about midday, mostly older and more conservative people, opposing Yoon’s removal and favoring the restoration of his power.
“These rigged (legislative) elections are eating away at this country, and at the core they are socialist-communist powers, so about ten of us came together and said the same thing – we are absolutely against impeachment,” said Lee Young-su, a 62-year-old year-old businessman.
As justification for imposing martial law, Yoon had cited allegations of election hacking and “anti-state” pro-North Korean sympathizers, which were denied by the National Election Commission.
