Pro and anti-impeachment protesters fill in Geumnam-ro, Gwangju

With President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial nearing its conclusion, protesters both for and against impeachment took to the streets across the country on the weekend. On Gwangju's Geumnam-ro, one of the most symbolic sites for the May 18 Democratic Movement, opposing rallies were held just 100 meters apart, with a police vehicle barricade set up between both sides.

The rallies for and against President Yoon's impeachment held in front of the former South Jeolla Provincial Office on Saturday were attended by the largest crowd in Gwangju since the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. The police put up a 100-meter barricade of vehicles, mainly around an insurance company building on Geumnam-ro, to prevent any possible clashes between the two sides. Save Korea, a conservative Christian group, arranged a national emergency prayer meeting against the impeachment on Geumnam-ro for 4 hours and 45 minutes starting at 1 p.m. It was estimated (unofficially by the police) that 30,000 from all over the country gathered to pray. Korean history lecturer Jeon Han-gil stood on the podium and chanted for the legitimacy of martial law, arguing that it is unjust to impeach President Yoon.

A joint squad of Gwangju-based civic groups, named “The Gwangju Emergency Action for the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration’s Immediate Resignation and Social Reform,” opened the 14th general rally for Gwangju citizens at 3 p.m. on the opposite side to conservative protesters. The police unofficially estimated that 10,000 people joined this rally.

These rallies also took place in downtown Seoul. In an anti-impeachment rally held near the Gwanghwamun area at 1 p.m. on Saturday led by Sarang Jeil Church Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon’s pro-Yoon group DKB, an estimated 40,000 people shouted slogans such as “Release Yoon Suk Yeol,” displaying placards reading “Illegal detention, Invalid impeachment” and waving Korean national flag Taegeukgi.

In the meantime, controversy was sparked as a deepfake video clip of President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee partially naked was broadcast at the pro-impeachment rally in Gwangju on Sunday. The presidential office announced it would take legal action against those responsible for producing and distributing the manipulated video.


서지원 wish@donga.com·