SEOUL (Reuters) – Demonstrators for and against South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul staged competing protests several hundred meters apart in Seoul on Saturday, a week after he was ousted for briefly declaring martial law.
Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended but he remains in office. He did not comply with various summonses from authorities investigating whether martial law, which he declared late on December 3 and then rescinded hours later, constituted rebellion.
He also did not respond to attempts to contact him by the Constitutional Court, which decided to remove him from office or restore his presidential powers. The court intends to hold its first preparatory session on Friday.
Pro- and anti-Leon protests were held on Saturday in Gwanghwamun, in the heart of the capital. No clashes occurred until 4 p.m. (0700 GMT).
Tens of thousands of anti-Leon protesters, dominated by people in their 20s and 30s, gathered around 3 p.m., waving K-pop light sticks and banners with sayings like “Arrest! Imprisonment! Rebellion leader Yoon Suk-yeol” to K-pop lyrics Attractive. Pop ringtones.
“I wanted to ask Yoon how he could do this for democracy in the 21st century, and I think if he really has a conscience, he should step down,” 27-year-old Cho Seung-hyo said.
Several thousand pro-Yeon protesters, most of them older and more conservative who oppose Yoon's impeachment and support the restoration of his powers, have been gathering since around midday.
“These rigged (parliamentary) elections are eating away at this country, and at their core are the socialist communist forces, so about 10 of us got together and said the same thing – we are completely against impeachment,” Lee Young-soo, 62, said. One year old businessman.
Yoon had cited allegations of election hacking and “anti-state” North Korean sympathizers as justification for imposing martial law, which the National Election Commission denied.
