We will fight to the end Thousands protest in Seoul day after Yoon s impeachment is upheld

SEOUL – Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has finally been ousted, four months after a botched martial law declaration, but protests held a day after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment have highlighted the country’s political divide.

Undeterred by the rain, thousands of poncho-sheathed Yoon supporters filled Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on April 5, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting for his reinstatement. Organisers claimed that more than 20,000 people attended the protest.

Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec 3, 2024, marked the most severe assertion of executive power in South Korea since its democratic transition in the late 1980s.

The move faced immediate and intense public backlash, and was voted down by lawmakers six hours later.

He was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec 14.

On April 4, the eight judges of the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment, setting off a 60-day countdown to a snap presidential election.

Demonstrators the next day said they rejected the ruling, accusing the judges of “perpetrating an insurrection”.

“We will reject the snap election and fight to the end, until president Yoon is reinstated,” said Mr Jang Han-young, 66, a self-proclaimed Buddhist monk. “The people hereby impeach the eight justices!”

Some expressed conspiracy theories. “The justices were probably bribed or threatened,” said Mr Kim Hyun-bok, a 60-year-old business owner. “They’ve stolen our democracy.”

Others were vehement. “This may sound extreme, but I even had thoughts of revenge,” said construction worker Edward Cho, 30.

The rally remained largely peaceful, aside from brief confrontations with passers-by. However, protesters invoked the “right to resist” – a loosely defined call for civil disobedience that some of Yoon’s supporters used to justify a riot at a Seoul courthouse earlier in 2025 following his arrest.

“We’ll fight until the end,” said Mrs