"Immediate Dismissal" VS "Impeachment Opposition"... Divided Gwanghwamun with Cheer Sticks and Taegeukgi

1km Distance... Police Estimate 25,000 at 'Resignation Rally' and 31,000 at 'Opposition Rally'

Gwanghwamun was divided into two sides with cheering sticks and Taegeukgi flags. After the December 3 emergency martial law incident, one side supported the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol, while the other opposed it.

On the 21st, the "Gwanghwamun National Revolution Rally to Oppose Presidential Impeachment and Protect Liberal Democracy," hosted by the Korea Restoration National Movement Headquarters, is being held in front of Dongwha Duty Free Shop in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News

On the 21st, large-scale rallies both urging and opposing the impeachment trial decision of President Yoon Suk-yeol were held simultaneously around the Gwanghwamun area.

Unlike last weekend when rallies calling for resignation were held in Yeouido and anti-impeachment rallies in Gwanghwamun during the National Assembly's impeachment vote, from this week onward, all gatherings converged in Gwanghwamun.

The "Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of Yoon Suk-yeol and Social Reform" (Resignation Action) held a rally in front of the Dongsipjagak Pavilion at Gyeongbokgung Palace starting around 3 p.m. that day.

As of 3:50 p.m., the police unofficially estimated 25,000 participants. The organizers stated they were still counting the current number of attendees.

Participants held cheering sticks, which had become a 'symbol' of the resignation rally, shouting slogans such as "Immediately dismiss Yoon Suk-yeol" and "Arrest him immediately."

They also sang Girls' Generation's "Into the New World" together.

Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, shouted at a pre-rally held in front of the Seoul Employment and Labor Office, "We must thoroughly identify and firmly punish those who sympathized with martial law and abetted the rebellion." Union members joined the Dongsipjagak rally after the pre-rally ended.

Near Dongsipjagak at Gyeongbokgung, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 16th, participants at the "Immediate Dismissal and Punishment of Yoon Seok-yeol! Great Social Reform! Citizens' Grand March," organized by the "Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol and Great Social Reform," are urging the Constitutional Court to dismiss President Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Yonhap News

At the same time, conservative groups such as the Korea Right Restoration National Movement Headquarters (Daegukbon) and the Liberty Unification Party began a rally around Sejong-daero, about 1 km away from Dongsipjagak, starting around 1 p.m.

As of 3:20 p.m., the number of participants gathered between Donghwa Duty Free Shop and Daehanmun was estimated by the organizers at 1 million and unofficially by the police at 31,000. The police controlled all lanes in this section.

Participants held placards reading "Oppose Impeachment, Arrest Lee Jae-myung," Taegeukgi flags, and U.S. flags. They also shouted slogans such as "Investigating martial law is rebellion" and "Punish the Juche faction."

Mr. Kim, who came from Incheon, said, "Where else in the world do they remove a president who still has a long term left?" and added, "I will keep coming to Gwanghwamun until the president returns."

The police installed metal fences and other barriers in various places to prepare for possible clashes between the opposing groups and focused on maintaining order. Security near the Constitutional Court, where the impeachment trial is held, was also strengthened.