Thousands of South Korean protesters braved a snowstorm on Sunday to protest against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, protesting his arrest over a failed martial law bid less than 48 hours before the warrant was set to expire.
Yun plunged the country into political chaos last month with his declaration of martial law and has since holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers who have resisted attempts to arrest him.
Thousands of people descended on his residence and major streets in Seoul on Saturday, a day after the failed arrest attempt – with one camp demanding Yoon’s arrest, the other calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
Pro-Yun supporters rallied again in front of his home on Sunday despite heavy snowfall overnight in the capital that covered the capital in a blanket of white, while an anti-Yun rally was scheduled for 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT). Was done.
“Snow is nothing to me. They can bring all the snow and we’ll still be here,” said anti-Yun protester Lee Jin-ah, 28, who previously worked at a coffee shop.
“I left my job to protect my country and democracy,” he said, adding that he had camped outside the residence overnight.
Park Young-chul, who is 70, said the blizzard would not stop him from supporting Yoon before the warrant expires at midnight on Monday.
“I went through a war to fight shirtless and was in the snow at 20 degrees below zero. This snow is nothing. We are having a war again,” he told AFP.
The rallies in the cold came as Yun this week said he was watching protests in support of his rule on a YouTube livestream, promising to “fight” those who tried to question his short-lived power grab.
Yun faces criminal charges of rebellion, one of the few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could face a prison sentence or, in a worst-case scenario, the death penalty. Might be possible.
If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
blinken weds in
The country’s opposition Democratic Party called for the disbandment of the security service protecting Yoon as investigators blocked access to Yoon by a wall of hundreds of security forces.
“The Presidential Security Service has violated the constitution by positioning itself as a force of rebellion,” floor leader Park Chan-dae told parliament on Saturday.
“There is no longer any justification for its existence.”
Top service officials rejected a police request for questioning on Saturday, citing the “serious nature” of Yun’s security.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is investigating the martial law declaration, and the opposition have asked Acting President Choi Sang-mok – who had been in office for only a week and a party ally of Yoon – to order the Presidential Security Service to cooperate. Urged.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul late Sunday, with talks with his counterpart Cho Tae-yeul on Monday likely to address the crisis at a key security ally.
They are expected to encourage continuity with the impeached president’s policies, but not tactics.
Yoon’s lawyers described Friday’s attempted arrest as “unlawful and invalid” and vowed to take legal action.
In highly dramatic scenes, Yoon’s guards and military soldiers protected him from investigators, who ultimately called off Friday’s arrest attempt, citing security concerns.
The Constitutional Court has set Yoon’s impeachment trial for Jan. 14, which will continue in absentia if he fails to appear.
South Korea’s constitutional court has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon from the presidency or restore his powers.
Until then, while suspended, Yoon holds the office of President.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
