"Don't Hate the Elderly Too Much"... 77-Year-Old Senior Sheds Tears Over Impeachment Approval

Lee Seung-bang (77), who was captured bursting into tears in apparent emotion at the Yeouido rally on the 14th when the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was passed in the National Assembly, expressed gratitude and apology to the younger generation.

The moment Lee Seung-bang burst into tears after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol was passed. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter)

In an interview with JoongAng Ilbo on the 19th, Lee said, "I was one of the citizens holding a candle at the rally, and it just happened that a camera caught me," adding, "Anyone would have had that expression at the moment the impeachment motion was passed."

Having directly experienced the horrors after the Korean War, the April 19 Revolution, and the democratization movements of the 1980s, Lee recalled that the turbulent modern history came to mind like a black-and-white movie during the December 3 emergency martial law incident. He was a second-year middle school student during the April 19 Revolution and joined protests following his high school seniors. He recalled, "I clearly remember the gunshots near Gyeongmudae (now the old Blue House in Hyoja-dong) and the cries of citizens climbing onto trucks shouting for the overthrow of dictatorship." He also participated in the 'Anti-Japan Claims Agreement Movement (1965~1966)' as a freshman at Yonsei University in the class of '65. He said, "I had experienced martial law before, but this time I thought it was fake news."

Regarding the rally, which felt like a festival with idol songs playing, Lee said, "I don't know much about Girls' Generation songs, but since Koreans are a people of enthusiasm, I naturally found myself dancing." He continued, "Seeing the young people made me proud and gave me hope that South Korea can overcome any crisis again," adding, "Our older generation should have made better political choices, and I feel regretful and sorry." However, he urged, "But we should not only hate the elderly; we must believe in South Korea's resilience."

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

Earlier on the 14th, Jake Kwon, a reporter for BBC News UK, posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Lee Seung-bang, born in 1947. The moment that news was announced." The video showed Lee unable to hide his overwhelmed expression as he burst into tears among citizens cheering at the moment President Yoon's impeachment was passed.

He tightly closed his eyes but raised both hands and swayed his body with the music playing, expressing joy together with the citizens. At the rally, Girls' Generation's "Into the New World" was playing. In a subsequent interview with the BBC, Lee expressed his joy in English, saying, "The dictator president Yoon is now disappeared. So happy." Lee's video became a huge sensation, recording about 2.25 million views on X as of the 19th.