International media outlets have covered the alleged peaceful and orderly public protests calling for the resignation of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempted military law tragedy.
Stephanie Choi, a scholar, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the rally’s use of mild sticks” speaks the power of solidarity while upholding the original principle of non-violence.”
Nihon Keizai Newspaper described the demonstrations before the National Assembly on December 7 as “orderly, with the vibrant ambience of a festivity, incorporating elements of leisure”.
It’s true—South Korea’s presentations are usually more composed than, state, those in the United States. No significant conflict erupts into public places, no rioters burning down structures, no rioters storming the National Assembly, and no extremists storming the building.
However, despite the compliment for peaceful protests, demonstrations in South Korea are messier than they may seem.
Protestors enraged against ruling People Power Party ( PPP ) lawmakers who en masse boycotted the vote on December 7 immediately following the unsuccessful impeachment motion against Yoon on December 7.
A field blade and a banner demanding Yoon’s senate were discovered a day later atop Kim Jae-sup’s residence. His district department was stricken by an egg-filled wreath of flowers with important messages and targeted with a crown of flowers in protest. Kim has since requested authorities security.
At the office of another ruling party lawmaker, Shin Dong-wook, a university student, pasted a flyer stating,” What you did in the National Assembly on the 7th … is a declaration of war against the people”. Many other PPP politicians have experienced similar intimidation, with many of their offices being strewn with fresh eggs.
On the other hand, Kim Yea-ji, one of the three PPP lawmakers who voted in next week’s prosecution movement, has received a lot of phone calls and messages requesting her departure.
However, street protests are likewise intensifying. In mid-November, 11 trade union individuals were detained in Gwanghwamun during a protest demanding Yoon’s departure.
One protester was injured and transported to a local hospital as a result of the confrontation that turned into a real confrontation between the police and activists. On Thursday, the same union party unjustly blocked several bridges and attempted to misconduct the presidential mansion, calling for Yoon’s prosecution.
Last month, a rebel claiming to “oppose inequity” attempted self-immolation by dousing himself with ink thinner on the day of Yoon’s impeachment vote. Also, on Wednesday in Chuncheon, another person poured thinner over his plain neck while demanding Yoon’s accusation and senate.
In the traditional enclave of Gyeongbuk state, banners calling for Yoon’s impeachment were frequently vandalized. A PPP senator volunteer reportedly contacted a local emblem company, heightening the situation, and threatened the graffiti of their signs.
A 20-year-old gentleman was detained earlier this month after posting an Instagram photo of himself carrying a knife and a ominous information to harm protesters at the Gwanghwamun march. The risk was obviously aimed at “anti-Yoon” protesters.
Similar incidents of pro- and anti-Yoon partisan conflict led to more egregious acts of despair in January, including the beating of PPP senator Bae Hyun-jin with a stone in Busan and the teen’s beating of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung in the neck.
In South Korea, hostilities have a record during prosecution trials. During previous President Park Geun-hye’s prosecution, real face-offs were widespread, resulting in tens of injuries among officers and protesters, the deaths of four pro-Park crusaders and many arrests.
Also, cruel, half-baked stories about Park and her allies, together with personal insults directed at the then-president, circulated widely yet through established media.
With the upcoming days and weeks of a new prosecution movement being introduced this Saturday ( December 14), one can only hope that these unnecessary and unfortunate activities do not occur again.
However, the citizens of democratic democracies have important liberties, including the right to gather and protest. And in the midst of significant unrest this month, the North Korean people have shown largely remarkable resilience and ordered leadership in response to the government’s alleged injustice.
But engagement that defies common sense also poses a threat to the integrity of democratic operations, especially when maintaining constitutional order is important.
In the end, the elected officials will decide whether to remove President Yoon from office or not, while the leader will ultimately have to make that choice. The Constitutional Court will decide whether Yoon should be removed from office if the parliament passes the impeachment articles.
The public must also have faith that Yoon’s two institutions will conduct a thorough investigation, and it will be the president’s responsibility to decide whether or not he should be punished.
If South Koreans are dissatisfied with any of the outcomes, democratic channels—such as elections, petitions, and legal recourse—provide legitimate ways to seek redress. Intimidation and coercion, however, should have no role in the nation’s democratic political process in the days and weeks ahead.