WNAM MONITORING: There was no letup in South Korea’s simmering political crisis as thousands gathered in capital Seoul on Sunday, with demonstrations both in support and against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, after his release from detention.
Some 4,500 pro-Yoon protesters held a Sunday service outdoors near the presidential residence in central Seoul, demanding the Constitutional Court dismiss the impeachment.
The service was organized by Sarang Jeil Church, led by conservative activist pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, according to the Yonhap news agency.
“With President Yoon’s release, the impeachment trial has become meaningless. It’s over,” Jeon was quoted as saying by the news agency.
“In the event the Constitutional Court does something funny, we will exercise the people’s right to resist and get rid of them with a single slash,” he added.
Yoon was released on Saturday from the detention center where he had been held since mid-January over his botched martial law attempt in December, after a Seoul court declared his detention invalid.
However, Yoon still has to stand trial on charges of leading an insurrection and is awaiting the verdict of the Constitutional Court on whether to uphold or dismiss his impeachment.
An opposing rally by a group of activists calling for Yoon’s immediate removal, was held overnight outside of Seoul’s Gyeongbok Palace. The group also held a news conference outside the nearby government complex Sunday to declare a week of “emergency action” urging Yoon’s ouster from office.
The group will begin a march from the National Palace Museum later in the day, which it claims will be attended by 100,000 people.
In a related development, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) demanded Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung resign immediately to take responsibility for the prosecution’s release of Yoon following the court verdict.
The party threatened to consider “all possible” measures, including his impeachment, if the top prosecutor refused.
“Prosecutor General Shim released Yoon Suk Yeol, the ringleader of an insurrection, after voluntarily giving up the opportunity to immediately appeal the court decision (to release him) and receive the judgment of a higher court,” floor leader Park Chan-dae said after an emergency general meeting of lawmakers.
The DP and four other minor opposition parties agreed at a meeting of their leaders to jointly call for Shim’s resignation and push for his impeachment should he refuse.
The ruling People Power Party, on the other hand, ratcheted up its calls on the Constitutional Court to dismiss Yoon’s impeachment and reinstate him.
“The Constitutional Court must keep in mind that it will face unbearable backlash in the event it hastily removes the president from office and he is later acquitted of the insurrection charges,” a party spokesperson said.
