Deep down, the demonstrators in Seoul knew that Yoon would play an trump card: ‘But we will be back here on Saturday’

Without accomplishing business, go home, that’s what it feels like on Saturday evening when a crowd of tens of thousands of South Koreans disperses within the hour in the dark streets of the capital Seoul. For hours they shouted in the wide streets leading to the National Assembly calling for “Impeachment! Impeachment! Impeachment!” from President Yoon Suk-yeol. But night falls, it becomes dark and cold, and it slowly becomes clear: Yoon has too much control over his own party. The impeachment proceedings in parliament, which were initiated after the president attempted a military coup, fail.

The first signal that the demonstrators are disappointing comes shortly after the start of the voting session at 5 p.m. There will be no special investigation into Yoon’s wife Kim Keon-hee, who has previously been at the center of bribery scandals and has increasingly been identified as a driving force behind them in the days since the failed coup. But in parliament, the 108 members of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) vote against such an investigation into the South Korean first lady and then leave the assembly.

When an announcer tells the news from a stage specially constructed for the protest, running away still seems like a childish action. The crowd cheers. But when the minutes tick by and nothing comes out about the impeachment proceedings, something else arises: are those parliamentarians doing their job?

In the hours that follow, it appears that the PPP members impeachment boycott. And without their votes, there is no quorum. An effective tactic: the outcome of the votes does not matter, the vote is not valid. 56-year-old IT worker Cha Byung Cheol is deeply frustrated about this coordinated action: “We are doing our civic duty. We vote and we demonstrate to reinforce that vote. And the parliamentarians aren’t even doing their job – they have to cast their votes now!”, he shouts into the phone. Cha is across the street – it’s so busy it’s almost impossible to get there. The excitement is palpable, the demonstrators shout their outrage towards the illuminated monumental dome of the parliament building.

Protesters pose with images of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and newly elected US President Donald Trump during a protest in Seoul.

When the reporter encountered him earlier in the day, Cha had said: “There may be a million of us here. And we actually came to reach only eight politicians.” The Seoul resident is referring to the calculation that supporters of Yoon’s impeachment make: the opposition parties together have 192 seats. To pass the impeachment, 200 votes are needed – two-thirds of all seats in parliament. It means that for the removal from Yoon’s own ruling party, only eight parliamentarians must deviate from the party line.

Punk band and food trucks

At the beginning of the afternoon that still seems a feasible task. At one o’clock, four hours before the start of the vote, the wide avenue in front of parliament is already so full that the metro no longer stops at the station in question. People can’t even get out of vehicles, so packed are those who are determined to join the protest. Around that time, protests are also organized by conservatives who want to show their support for Yoon. But they don’t go to the parliament building – that’s where the unions rule. With combined and clearly trained forces, they have created something that most resembles a music festival. A female punk band plays live; well-known K-pop songs have been remixed in such a way that the demonstrators shout “Impeachment!” being able to scream during the chorus. Dozens of affected ones food trucks do golden business.

Cha grins when the organization of the protest is discussed. “That’s a sign of good democracy! We know how to make our opinions heard in an orderly manner.”

It is precisely such expression that may be in danger, fears 34-year-old Kim Ji An. She runs her own independent publishing house, with art books and experimental literature. “When Yoon declared a military state of emergency, he vowed to restrict the press. And he would have the power to ban any form of expression, free speech. Even meetings. That is all so important,” she says. Like many others, she sat down and took an insulation mat with her against the cold asphalt. “I can’t imagine what a society would be like where someone else decides that for you. I sometimes receive criticism about what we spend, but that is necessary in a society. I see that as part of my job.” This Saturday the protest will be the same, she nods. And she plans to remain seated “until that message has reached the parliamentarians.”

But what if that doesn’t happen tonight? She is silent for a moment. She hadn’t thought of that scenario before – or maybe she didn’t want to. “Maybe deep down I should have expected Yoon to play an trump card.”

Great pressure on politicians

Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik then announces that the voting has not yet reached a definitive end: the politicians have until 00:48 sharp.

“Go back inside! Go back inside!” is now the slogan of the demonstrators against the PPP. The volume of the music on the boulevard goes up a notch. “We have to show energy now,” says Noh Yeon Soo (39), himself a local administrator and lawyer. Around her, a group of friends are jumping up and down. “We are not going to let ourselves be dismissed just like that.” And indeed some parliamentarians from Yoon’s party return to the hall. But they voted against impeachment even though they disagreed with Yoon’s military emergency law. The pressure on these politicians is enormous – there are rumors of threats against them.

There were massive demonstrations outside parliament against President Yoon Suk-yeol. According to the police, this involved 150,000 people, according to organizers it was a million. Photo Yonhap / AFP

Kim Jeung Hee (50) tries to sympathize with that. “We should not become aggressive as demonstrators,” he says. “That has happened in our history. But we now have laws that judge harshly against treason.” Protesters and opposition parties see Yoon’s attempt to declare a state of emergency as subversion and treason – he bypassed parliament and even ordered the arrests of political opponents. Yoon could give in to public pressure and resign himself. Kim would welcome it – but he would still have to be held accountable. “There must be a punishment,” he says. “It’s not just about Yoon and what he did this week: we must make it clear to any politician who would think of something like this in the future that we will never accept this.”

Kim and his wife are not from Seoul, but from Gwangju, a city in the south. They have to go home by bus tonight. They stay as long as the bus schedule allows. “And otherwise we will come back. We know from experience that it sometimes takes more than one attempt before an impeachment occurs.” The trade unions have also come to this conclusion. Even before Speaker of Parliament Woo officially closes the polls, the music system is disconnected. “Know that we will be here again next Saturday,” is the invitation to the demonstrators. They will queue for the reopened metro; police officers mark the line for the turnstiles with a ribbon.

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