Thousands of Koreans demonstrated in the streets of Seoul on Wednesday evening to demand the removal of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol after his failed attempt to impose the country’s first martial law.
With banners calling for the impeachment of the president, candles and distribution of hot drinks, Koreans marched towards the Presidential Palace, showing their deep shock as the opposition tabled an impeachment motion in Parliament against the president. former attorney general of the country.
This motion, which will require a two-thirds majority to be adopted, could be put to a vote on Friday, indicated the six opposition parties represented in Parliament, including the main one, the Democratic Party (center-left ).
Mr. Yoon, whose popularity rating was already at an all-time low, has his back against the wall by both the opposition and his own party after introducing martial law during a surprise speech late Tuesday, before repealing the measure a few hours later under pressure from deputies and the street.
In the context of difficulties in adopting the 2025 budget, the president justified this coup by saying he wanted to “eliminate elements hostile to the State” and “protect liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korean communist forces.” “.
Mr. Yoon, narrowly elected in 2022 and who has never had a majority in Parliament, pointed to a “legislative dictatorship” and accused opposition elected officials of blocking “all budgets essential to the primary functions of the nation.”
– Soldiers in Parliament –
After Mr. Yoon’s announcement, troops were deployed and army helicopters landed on the roof of the Korean parliament, but lawmakers were able to convene in a hurry to pass a resolution demanding the measure’s repeal .
Hundreds of demonstrators had meanwhile gathered in front of Parliament to demand the withdrawal of the text and the resignation of the president.
The imposition of martial law involved the suspension of political life, the closure of parliament and the placing under control of the media.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential election to Mr. Yoon, called the measure “illegal.”
“We will file a complaint for rebellion” against the president, his defense and interior ministers and “key figures in the army and police, such as the martial law commander (a general of the “army, Editor’s note) and the police chief,” announced the Democratic Party on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun announced that he had offered his resignation to the president. “I deeply regret and take full responsibility for the confusion and concern caused to the public by martial law,” he wrote in a statement.
Even Mr. Yoon’s party, the People Power Party, distanced itself from the president’s initiative.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s largest inter-union association with some 1.2 million members, called for an “indefinite general strike” until Mr. Yoon’s resignation, saying he had “signed his own end in power.”
– Yoon “went crazy” –
At the start of Wednesday evening, the head of state had still not reappeared in public.
In total, more than 280 soldiers broke into Parliament, according to Yonhap. A total of 190 deputies out of 300 still managed to gather in the hemicycle, where special forces soldiers were trying to penetrate. They managed to unanimously vote on a motion calling for the lifting of martial law.
In front of the building, sealed overnight, demonstrators shouted: “Stop Yoon Suk Yeol! », noted AFP journalists.
On Wednesday evening, some of the demonstrators said they were shocked to have seen their country so close to turning its back on nearly 40 years of democracy.
“We have to defend her,” said Shin So-yeon, a young woman in her early twenties. “There is no other possibility.”
“It was like a history lesson,” says Park Su-hyung, 39. “Our democracy will be trampled if we leave Mr. Yoon in power for another moment,” he said.
“I had to be here tonight, the president is crazy,” said Choi Moon Jung, 55, as he handed out hot drinks.
Martial law was last activated in 1980, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest a military coup. These demonstrations were bloodily repressed.
Undermined by the events of the night, the Seoul Stock Exchange ended Wednesday down 1.4%.
LNT with Afp
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