South Korea’s day of rage as President Yoon’s martial law flounders

SEOUL – 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.

He said Mr Yoon had lost all ability to make “normal and reasonable judgment”.

Another opposition official described Mr Yoon as “abnormal”.

“Abnormal President, with the abnormal presidential wife, tried to protect the abnormal power,” said Mr Kim Min-seok, a senior Democratic Party official.

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 could be put to a vote by Dec 6.

‘The President is crazy’

Protests that erupted across Seoul also featured many younger faces who said the experience had awoken them to the fragility of the country’s hard-won democracy – reminiscent of the 2016 protests that brought down former president Park Geun-hye.

“We have to defend it,” Ms Shin So-yeon, a woman in her 20s, told AFP. “There is no other option.”

Others expressed shock that the country – ruled for decades by a series of authoritarian regimes – had come so close to turning back the clock on almost 40 years of democracy.

“It was like something out of a history textbook,” Mr Park Su-hyung, 39, said. “Our democracy will be trampled if we keep Yoon in office a moment longer.”

At a gathering in Seoul’s central square later on Dec 4, protesters handed out hot drinks and candles as they readied themselves for another long night.

Demonstrators later marched on the National Assembly, determined to keep up the pressure until Mr Yoon steps down.

Thousands of people gathered at either end of the protest march, chanting and calling for Mr Yoon to resign.

Ns Choi Moon-jung, 55, told AFP she “had to be here tonight”.

She added: “The President is crazy.” AFP