"So Happy"...A 70-Year-Old Who Shed Tears Over Impeachment Approval Speaks in BBC Interview

Raising Both Hands and Dancing with Joy on Shoulders
Yoon Impeached with 204 Votes in Favor out of 300 Members

As the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was passed, a video capturing a tearful man in his 70s caught the attention of foreign media. On the 15th, BBC News journalist Jake Kwon shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Lee Seung-bang (77), born in 1947, at the moment the news was announced." In the video, Mr. Lee is seen shedding tears and shaking his clenched fist among the crowd as the impeachment was approved.

Participants gathered in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul, are cheering immediately after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was passed in the second impeachment vote.

As the citizens gathered in front of the National Assembly cheered, Mr. Lee raised both hands and shook his body in joy. At the time, the song "Into the New World" by the group Girls' Generation was playing at the rally. Kwon reported, "Mr. Lee was overwhelmed with relief the moment he heard the impeachment vote news. He has witnessed both the best and worst days in recent Korean history," adding, "Among the cheering crowd, Mr. Lee struggled to hold back tears. He said, 'This is a victory for democracy. From today, Korean politics will grow further.'"

As the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol was passed, a man in his 70s, Lee Seung-bang, was seen bursting into tears, drawing attention from foreign media. X

In a subsequent interview with BBC News, Mr. Lee said, "The dictator president Yoon is now disappeared. So happy." Netizens who saw Mr. Lee's tears responded with comments such as, "Thinking about the modern history he has lived through, I understand the feelings behind his tears," "I am happy too," "Thanks to the elder, we enjoy democracy," and "Those tears say it all."

Earlier, on the 14th at 4 p.m., the National Assembly held a plenary session to vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon. The motion passed with 204 votes in favor, 85 against, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes out of 300 members. President Yoon became the third president in constitutional history to be impeached, following former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye. With this impeachment, all of President Yoon's powers have been suspended, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as acting president. Prime Minister Han will assume all constitutional and legal powers, including command of the armed forces and emergency decree authority, overseeing the entire administration on behalf of President Yoon.