Thousands of South Koreans braved a snowstorm yesterday to rally in support or opposition of President Yoon Suk-yeol, suspended over a failed martial law bid and resisting arrest a day before the warrant expires.
Yoon plunged the country into political chaos last month with the bungled martial law declaration and has since holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers.
An attempt to arrest him by investigators on Friday failed when a tense six-hour standoff with his presidential security service ended over security fears, with his supporters also camped outside. Thousands descended on his residence again yesterday despite bitter snow conditions blanketing the capital — with one camp demanding Yoon’s arrest while the other called for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
Photo: AFP
“Snow is nothing for me. They can bring all the snow and we’ll still be here,” said anti-Yoon protester Lee Jin-ah, 28, who had previously worked at a coffee shop.
“I quit my job to come to protect our country and democracy,” she said, adding that she had camped outside the residence overnight.
Park Young-chul, in his 70s, said the snowstorm would not deter him from showing up to back Yoon before the warrant expires at midnight today.
“I went through war and minus-20°C in the snow to fight the commies. This snow is nothing. Our war is happening again,” he said.
Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.
A prosecutors’ report for his former defense minister seen by Agence France-Presse yesterday showed Yoon ignored the objections of key Cabinet ministers before his failed martial law bid.
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