"50,000 Gather in Daegu Opposing Yoon's Impeachment...Ruling Party Also 'Keeping Pace'"

Twelve Lawmakers Including Yoon Jae-ok and Chu Kyung-ho Attend
Party Distances Itself as "Personal Judgment"
Also Highlights the Significance of the Rally

Last weekend, 12 members of the People Power Party participated in an anti-impeachment rally for President Yoon Suk-yeol held in Daegu, drawing attention to the background of their involvement. While the party distanced itself by calling it a personal participation, it also took steps to highlight the political significance of the rally.

On the 8th, at Dongdaegu Station Square in Daegu, around 50,000 people (estimated by the police) gathered for the anti-impeachment rally for President Yoon. Twelve People Power Party lawmakers, mainly from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, including Yoon Jae-ok, Chu Kyung-ho, Kang Dae-sik, and Kwon Young-jin, attended. This was a larger scale compared to the rally held on the 1st in Busan, which was attended by lawmakers Park Soo-young, Kim Mi-ae, Yoon Sang-hyun, and Cho Jung-hoon.

At the rally, well-known Korean history lecturer Jeon Han-gil and Kim Sung-won, the representative of the YouTube channel 'GroundC,' spoke as speakers. They harshly criticized the Constitutional Court, which is currently conducting the impeachment trial, calling President Yoon’s declaration of martial law an 'enlightenment order.'

The party drew a line regarding the lawmakers who attended the rally, stating it was "based on personal judgment." This is interpreted as a caution against the voices of the hardline supporters being overinterpreted as the party’s official stance. Seo Ji-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said, "We did not know in advance which lawmakers would attend or the exact scale of participation. We understand that the lawmakers made individual decisions."

Nevertheless, the party appeared to support the atmosphere of the Daegu rally. The party’s media special committee 'Real News Discovery Team' quoted police officials the day before, saying, "This is the largest single rally ever held in the Daegu area." On the same day, the party’s official Facebook account posted photos of the Daegu rally with the message, "You saw it. This is the power of the people."

Potential presidential candidates from the People Power Party also joined in alignment. On the 8th, Hong Joon-pyo, mayor of Daegu, wrote on Facebook, "I hope President Yoon is released from custody soon," adding, "I want to participate in the anti-impeachment rally and give a speech to reveal the truth, but if I go, I will be reported again for violating election laws." Even Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul, who supported the impeachment, wrote on Facebook, "President Yoon took political risks to restore Korea-Japan relations," and "I immediately expressed opposition to the declaration of martial law, but I actively agree with President Yoon’s diplomatic and security policies."