Gwangju Civic Groups and Local Lawmakers Urge Constitutional Court for Swift Impeachment of Yoon

Overnight Sit-in Begins at May 18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju
Democratic Party Local Lawmakers Start Hunger Strike

The Gwangju Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of Yoon Seokyeol and Social Reform, composed of over 180 civic groups from Gwangju and Jeonnam, will begin an overnight sit-in protest at the 5·18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju starting the afternoon of the 11th. Provided by the Gwangju Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of Yoon Seokyeol and Social Reform

Civic groups and local lawmakers in Gwangju have called for the Constitutional Court to swiftly approve the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

According to the Gwangju Emergency Action for the Immediate Resignation of Yoon Suk-yeol and Social Reform, which consists of around 180 civic organizations from Gwangju and Jeonnam, local civic groups and lawmakers began an overnight sit-in at the May 18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju, starting this afternoon.

The participating organizations also decided to hold a series of relay press conferences demanding the removal of President Yoon.

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Democratic Alumni Association held the first press conference at the May 18 Democracy Square, stating, "The ringleader of the rebellion has been released. Prosecutor General Sim Woo-jung, appointed by President Yoon, was an obstacle to uncovering the truth behind the rebellion," and added, "As the deadline for detention approached, time was wasted with a meeting of chief prosecutors, and even the appeal was abandoned. This constitutes dereliction of duty by the prosecution and an abuse of power that deprived the higher court of the opportunity to make a judgment."

They emphasized, "Even if all legal technicians, including the prosecution, are mobilized to escape this momentary crisis, the judgment on the rebellion is an unstoppable clock of history and a mandate of popular sovereignty," adding, "The more desperately the rebellious forces resist, the more their false masks will fall and their true faces will be revealed."

Local lawmakers from the Democratic Party in Gwangju also began a hunger strike this afternoon.

About 30 Gwangju city and district council members held a press conference, stating, "Since the establishment of the prosecution, there has never been a case where the detention period was calculated in hours instead of days," and asked, "Which citizen could possibly accept that such a precedent should be applied to President Yoon?"

They continued, "This decision to cancel the detention is an unjust ruling that, under the guise of 'protecting the defendant's human rights,' releases the ringleader of the rebellion and adds exception upon exception to influence the impeachment verdict," adding, "The Constitutional Court must keep in mind that only upholding the impeachment of President Yoon can restore the collapsed constitutional order and set democracy right."