Massive rallies in South Korea ahead of ruling on impeachment of President Yoon

SEOUL – South Koreans gathered in huge numbers in Seoul on March 15 to support or oppose impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol before a court decides whether his short-lived declaration of martial law disqualifies him from office.

The Constitutional Court is expected to decide in the coming days

whether to oust Mr Yoon

in a case that ignited the nation’s worst political crisis in decades and rattled markets.

In central Seoul, anti-Yoon protesters filled a large square, chanting for his immediate removal, and were joined by opposition politicians.

A few blocks away, conservative Yoon supporters crammed an entire avenue, calling for his return and waving South Korean and American flags.

The major opposition Democratic Party said a million people attended the anti-Yoon rally, while police put the number at each demonstration at 43,000, Yonhap news agency reported.

Mr Yoon is also on trial on a criminal charge of insurrection, although he was

freed from detention last week.

His

martial law imposition

and its fallout have widened deep social rifts between conservatives and liberals and put pressure on institutions and the military, which found itself in a quandary over whether to enforce martial law. 

Pro- and anti-Yoon demonstrators have been taking to the streets in their hundreds of thousands, week after week, since the crisis started.

“Last week, I thought that the Constitutional Court would rule, but it didn’t. Then Yoon was released, making me incredibly frustrated,” said 48-year-old protester Song Young-sun. “So this week I came here, hoping that the Constitutional Court will rule on the impeachment case next week.”

In a Gallup Korea poll published on March 14, 58 per cent supported Mr Yoon’s impeachment, while 37 per cent opposed it.

“I hope that the judges of the Constitutional Court will make a precise judgment and dismiss the case,” said Mr Kim Hyung-joon, a 70-year-old pro-Yoon protester. REUTERS