Protests Intensify as Ruling on Yoon's Impeachment Nears

Critics Say He Must Be Sacked as President; Supporters Cry Foul Over 'Anti-State Forces'

- NETWORK

SEOUL - Protests intensified at the weekend as the Constitutional Court is likely to hand down its verdict on suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment this week.

On March 16, members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea joined people rallying for Mr Yoon's impeachment to march 8.7km from the National Assembly in Yeouido of western Seoul to near Gwanghwamun, crossing the Han River via Mapo Bridge.

The march was the fifth consecutive one in five days since March 12, calling on the Constitutional Court to uphold the Parliament's motion to impeach Mr Yoon.

Representative Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, urged the Constitutional Court to swiftly hand down its verdict to remove Mr Yoon from office as he led the march on March 16, saying that the social anxiety and confusion, as well as damage to the economy, are growing the longer the ruling is delayed.

This march followed a mass rally in front of Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of Gyeongbokgung, and symbolic site of government since early in the Joseon era (1392-1910). While police estimate some 42,500 protesters gathered in front of the gate calling for Mr Yoon's removal, the Democratic Party estimated that some one million people rallied there on March 15, after consecutive daily protests the previous week.

In the view of the main opposition, a ruling rejecting the motion to impeach Mr Yoon would signal that martial law can be imposed to silence a president's critics.