Lee Jae-myung "Please find this person"…Youth blocking martial law military vehicle

Inquiry into the Young Man Who Blocked Military Vehicles During Martial Law Declaration

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked to find the citizen who stood bare-handed in front of a military vehicle that rushed to the National Assembly during the declaration of martial law on the 3rd.

On the 22nd, Lee shared a YouTube Shorts video on his X (formerly Twitter) account, saying, "Please make sure to find this person." The video shows a citizen standing in front of a moving military vehicle, along with several other citizens nearby joining in to help the man block the movement of the military vehicle. Lee added the hashtag '#BrightFutureOfKorea' to the post.

Lee Jae-myung X post

The video Lee posted is known to have been filmed by The Washington Post (WP). WP described the situation at the time as "On the early morning of December 4th in Seoul, protesters blocked military vehicles heading to the National Assembly." It also reported that "One citizen shouted, 'Step over my dead body!'" This video has been widely shared online since the day it was filmed.

Netizens who watched the video reacted with comments such as, "How scared that person must have been standing there first," "I cry every time I see it," "Thank you to the young people who love Korea. Thank you," "So sad and proud," "Find that wonderful young man and give him a hero award," "No one could ever overcome that strength, even watching again," "I'm so curious who this person is," and "I hope they find him and at least do an interview."

There were also opinions that this young man reminded them of the 'Tank Man of Tiananmen.' The Tank Man refers to a man who stood alone in front of a column of tanks entering Beijing during the Tiananmen Square incident in Beijing, China, in 1989. The Associated Press (AP) captured this scene, making his existence known worldwide. Although he was selected as one of the '100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century' by Time magazine in the United States that year, his identity has never been revealed.

Meanwhile, Lee expressed gratitude to the people during the December 3 martial law incident and the impeachment political crisis. On the 14th, after the impeachment motion against President Yoon was passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly, Lee took the stage at a rally held in front of the National Assembly and said, "The people have proven that they are the owners of this country."