South Koreans stage mass rally to demand removal of Yoon Suk Yeol
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Hundreds of thousands gather in central Seoul to protest against president suspended over martial law declaration. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans flooded central Seoul on Saturday in the latest wave of protests demanding the removal of the country’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, a day after parliament voted to impeach his acting replacement.
![[Lee Jae-myung sits on the ground with a large crowd of protesters and holds up a sign]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/60977ee2e74e1edfc015ad4bb95f0db6733fbc4f/0_381_7261_4357/master/7261.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Organisers claimed that more than 500,000 people participated in the rally, which took place amid a large police presence. The demonstrations, which have grown steadily since Yoon’s failed declaration of martial law on 3 December, transformed the historic Gwanghwamun area in a striking display of civic engagement, with citizens including young protesters wielding K-pop light sticks alongside civil society groups.
“Imprison Yoon Suk Yeol,” protesters chanted as they marched from Gyeongbokgung Palace toward the Myeongdong shopping district, many singing to K-pop music blasting from speaker trucks in what has become a characteristic mix of celebration and serious political messaging.
The impeachment on Friday of the acting president, Han Duck-soo, marked a deepening of South Korea’s political and constitutional crisis, stemming from Han’s refusal to appoint three judges to the constitutional court – the very body that must decide Yoon’s fate.
The opposition-controlled parliament viewed this as deliberately stalling Yoon’s impeachment process, while the ruling People Power party warned that removing Han risked triggering a “second financial crisis” and accused the opposition of paralysing state functions.
