The fact that there is a large pro-Yoon protest in Gwangju of all places has to be highly disturbing to the Korean left:
A longtime symbol of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement, Geumnam-ro Street in Gwangju became the staging ground for intensifying political divisions on Saturday, with protesters supporting and opposing President Yoon Suk Yeol gathering at the same time.
The two rallies, held separately along a 680-meter course from May 18 Democracy Square — commemorating the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising — to Geumnam-ro, saw the biggest crowd in Gwangju since Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, and, in particular, the largest anti-impeachment rally.
The conservative Christian organization Save Korea organized a rally opposing Yoon’s impeachment along Geumnam-ro, specifically on sections 3 and 4 of the road from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
While this was happening, a rally in favor of impeaching Yoon was held on the other side of Geumnam-ro, led by the civic group Gwangju Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of the Yoon Administration and Social Reform.
To maintain order and prevent physical clashes, police formed barriers between the opposing groups using riot buses.
Local media reported that the police unofficially put the number of people who participated in the anti-Yoon impeachment protest at 30,000, while 10,000 to 20,000 participated in the pro-Yoon impeachment protest.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like the difference between Yoon getting impeached and possibly going to jail is two similar sounding Korean words:
A former military commander involved in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law bid confirmed Thursday that the people Yoon ordered to be removed from the National Assembly were lawmakers, not agents, a claim that Yoon again rejected.
Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, the then chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, made the remark as a witness during the sixth formal hearing of Yoon’s impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court.
Yoon was also in attendance.
“I obviously thought and understood the part about dragging people out from inside as referring to lawmakers because there were no operation agents inside the main (parliamentary) building at the time,” Kwak said, referring to a phone call he received from Yoon on the night martial law was imposed on Dec. 3.
Kwak was confirming testimony he has previously given in parliament, as former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has disputed the claim, saying Yoon had in fact ordered the removal of agents, not lawmakers.
In Korean, the words for agent and lawmaker are similar in pronunciation.
Yoon once again denied the claim — saying he has never used the term “agent” — and accused Kwak of plotting against him.
You can read more at the link.
If Yoon was trying to arrest members of the Korean parliament, it was the most incompetent coup attempt ever:
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday he ordered sending troops to offices of the National Election Commission (NEC) during his martial law declaration as he has suspected election fraud allegations.
Yoon made the admission while attending the fifth formal hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, where he again denied allegations that he ordered military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament in an attempt to prevent them from blocking the martial law imposition. (……)
Yoon is also alleged to have sent military troops to the National Assembly to keep lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration and to have planned to arrest key political figures.
“Nothing actually happened (during martial law decree) … I feel like we are chasing the moon’s shadow on a lake,” Yoon said. “You would know the true nature of this case if you saw it based on common sense.”
Yoon claimed that dragging lawmakers from parliament could not have been possible as there are thousands of civilians in the National Assembly compound and troops were withdrawn after martial law was lifted.
You can read more at the link.
I wonder what will happen if the legal system convicts Yoon of treason, but the Constitutional Court does not approve his impeachment?:
Attorney Yoon Gap-geun, legal representative for President Yoon Suk Yeol, speaks during a press conference held near Gangnam Station in Seoul on Saturday.
Attorney Yoon Gap-geun argued that the declaration of martial law by President Yoon could never constitute treason, stating, “Martial law is a constitutional authority granted to the president, and there has never been a case where the exercise of emergency powers by the president was punished as treason. This conclusion is supported by the majority of constitutional scholars.”
You can read more at the link.
At least Yoon was allowed out of jail to finally attend the impeachment trial:
President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared for the first time at his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, speaking of his long-held belief in “liberal democracy” and asking the bench to consider him favorably.
Yoon arrived at the court in a convoy escorted by the Presidential Security Service from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital, where he has been held in custody since last Wednesday.
At 2 p.m., he entered the courtroom, dressed in a suit and red tie, and sat waiting for the eight justices to arrive for the third hearing of the trial deliberating his impeachment over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.
You can read more at the link.
If the Democratic Party does yet another impeachment this would actually support Yoon’s rationale of why he tried to declare martial law. The Democratic Party is dangerously paralyzing the government for partisan political reasons:
![Acting President Choi Sang-mok leaves the government complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on his way to the site of the plane crash in Muan, South Jeolla, on Sunday morning. [YONHAP]](https://i0.wp.com/koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/29/1ae5ce03-860f-4d90-bb1f-6614d7fdfa8a.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Despite the growing risk that the country could be left without a government to mount effective responses to serious crises, hard-liners in the liberal Democratic Party (DP) have suggested impeaching more ministers to neutralize the Cabinet’s ability to stonewall legislation should Choi not cooperate with the DP-controlled National Assembly.
At least 11 members of the 21-member Cabinet must be present for the council to hold meetings, where it considers bills and issues directives. Six Cabinet-level positions are currently empty due to impeachments or resignations.
One of the DP’s reasons for impeaching Han was his refusal to immediately appoint the legislature’s three nominees for the Constitutional Court, which will decide the outcome of Yoon’s impeachment trial.
For Yoon’s impeachment to be upheld, at least six justices must agree on his removal from office.
The court must therefore be unanimous with its current six-member composition to finalize his dismissal.
In recent comments, DP Rep. Jang Kyung-tae said his party “should impeach several Cabinet members,” including Choi, if he also delays appointing more justices to the court.
You can read more at the link.
