350k South Koreans expected to rally as Yoon s impeachment verdict nears

SEOUL – Crowds of South Koreans filled downtown Seoul in one of the largest protests since President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for his martial law declaration, as judges enter the final stretch of their deliberations on whether to confirm his ouster or reinstate him.

Protesters took to the streets on March 1 with umbrellas, national flags and banners, with some expressing support and others criticising the suspended President.

Live television footage showed Yoon supporters crowding one section of the Gwanghwamun area that houses the government headquarters.

Demonstrators demanding his removal occupied a nearby thoroughfare.

Police earlier expected the crowds to total about 350,000 in the capital.

South Korea has been divided for months over Mr Yoon’s unexpected martial law imposition, which whipsawed financial markets, battered economic confidence and disrupted high-level diplomacy.

Rallies have taken place in Seoul almost every weekend either for or against him since the Constitutional Court began to examine a parliamentary motion that impeached him in December.

Mr Yoon, 64, denied wrongdoing over the course of 11 hearings that ended this week, defending his move as a desperate bid to deal with North Korea sympathisers trying to paralyse his administration.

He contended that his deployment of troops to the National Assembly on Dec 3, 2024, was to ensure peace and order rather than to block lawmakers from voting to annul the martial law.

“Yoon should come back to protect this country against North Korea as soon as possible,” 66-year-old Choi Jung-yoon said at a rally near the National Assembly.

“Martial law was necessary.”

At a rally near the Constitutional Court, Ms Christina Lee, 30, said: “Yoon should be impeached. Martial law is nonsense. I’m worried this country might lose its democracy.”

The opposition-controlled Parliament accused Mr Yoon of abusing power and the anti-corruption agency arrested him