Masses fill Seoul streets for and against impeachment vote

The lyrics of “Into the New World,” Girls’ Generation’s 2007 debut single, echoed through the streets of Yeouido on Saturday evening: “Our rough road is before our eyes. Unknown future and walls. I won’t change, I can’t give up.”

The song, for some time a protest anthem, was followed by Big Bang’s “Crooked” as tens of thousands of people wielded fluorescent light rods in what resembled more of a K-pop concert than a political protest.

Yet this was no ordinary demonstration — the streets were filled with citizens, about 100,000 according to a police estimate, protesting President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law and allegations of plans to seize parliament and detain lawmakers.

The impeachment vote against Yoon collapsed Saturday night when ruling party lawmakers walked out en masse and a quorum of 200 lawmakers could not be reached.

The scenes in Yeouido — where people from all walks of life gathered in peaceful protest — testified to what many called the maturing of South Korea’s democracy, echoing the lessons learned from the 2016 candlelight demonstrations that led to former President Park Geun-hye’s removal from office.

A nation holds its breath

Hours before the National Assembly’s impeachment vote, anticipation and suspense ran high across the country. Even typically apolitical citizens found themselves glued to news coverage as behind-the-scenes negotiations intensified.

“I’ve been wired into news and YouTube to follow politics lately, could barely wind down after work,” said Kim, 57, an orthodontist from Bundang, south of Seoul.

A self-described centrist typically indifferent to politics, she found herself totally outraged by the latest political drama.

“What’s driving me nuts more than the martial law declaration itself, which is crazy of course, is the ruling party’s rallying around the president to block his impeachment. It makes me fundamentally skeptical about parliamentary politics — it’s just a huge circus.”

Polling released Thursday morning, two days after the martial law declaration on Tuesday night, showed three in four registered voters supported impeachment. However, some expressed reservations about opposition control.

“The whole impeachment seems rushed,” said a 29-year-old engineer who gave only his English name, Tony. “We should wait for investigation results to evaluate the constitutionality of martial law,” he said.

Even previous Yoon supporters struggled with the choice. “This man is clearly mad, unfit for office,” said Hong, 88, who voted for Yoon but withdrew support after the martial law incident.

“But I can’t accept a Lee Jae-myung presidency either. I fear he would plunge this country further into chaos,” she said, referring to the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party.

Streets fill with protesters

By early afternoon, tens of thousands of protesters had transformed Yeouido, Seoul’s financial hub and home to the National Assembly, into a sea of demonstrations.

The December wind cut sharp off the Han River, with temperatures hovering near freezing. Students, office workers, and religious figures from all across the country stood shoulder to shoulder, bundled in thick winter coats while holding signs demanding Yoon’s removal. The crowd grew so large that subway operators bypassed two nearby stations.

The protesters pulled no punches in expressing their fury.

“This man was riddled with scandals even before this incident, including those surrounding the first lady. I can’t wait for the impeachment to pass,” told a 35-year-old office worker who had traveled from Eunpyeong-gu in northern Seoul to “show the power of the people.”

The sounds of chants echoed through Yeouido as police closed off major thoroughfares leading to the National Assembly. A constant flow of people flooded through the dense crowd, carrying signs past stages set up for speeches and performances. By 4 p.m., the area was so packed that reporters struggled to transmit coverage due to overwhelmed cell networks.

Meanwhile, in a stark display of the nation’s political divide, some 20,000 people, according to police estimates, simultaneously gathered in central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, waving Korean and American flags while calling for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung’s arrest.

They displayed banners reading “Protect our President” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung for treason,” accusing the opposition of orchestrating a scheme to destabilize the government.

Hope fades but resolve strengthens

The mood at Yeouido shifted dramatically when ruling party members began exiting the National Assembly hall en masse at 6:30 p.m., making the impeachment vote’s failure all but inevitable. But even as night fell and temperatures dropped further, the crowd only continued to swell.

“I feel totally disregarded,” said a man in his 50s from Seoul, his voice rising with anger. “It’s just like they’re running roughshod over representative democracy — they’re saying, ‘OK there are a million of you on the streets, so what?'”

Thousands remained firmly planted on the street, their chants of “Impeach Yoon Seok Yeol” and “People Power Party come back” echoing through Yeouido. As some protesters marched toward the National Assembly building, others lit candles in an echo of the 2016 demonstrations that ultimately led to President Park’s removal from office.

“It was more or less expected,” said another Seoul resident in his 50s, noting the earlier meeting between Han Dong-hoon, the People Power Party leader, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. “We shouldn’t forget what the president has done. We don’t know what he’s going to do next.”

The sound of Girls’ Generation’s “Into the New World” filled the air again, its lyrics taking on new meaning with the moment. Protesters wielding fluorescent rods — a staple of K-pop concerts now repurposed for political expression — swayed in unison.

“This is just the beginning,” declared one protester, raising the glow stick as he vowed to stay until midnight. “We will continue to act collectively.”

Foreign residents react

As countless South Koreans took to the streets, foreign residents in the country watched the unfolding drama with a mix of concern and admiration.

“I’m just curious to see how it impacts our life here in Korea, especially as someone who’s not a citizen, someone who’s purely here on a visa,” said an American resident in her 30s who requested anonymity.

She found both Tuesday’s martial law declaration and Saturday’s political maneuvering “unexpected” and “shocking.”

What particularly surprised her was the ruling party lawmakers’ rapid reversal. “It’s surprising that they are not sticking to what they had mentioned earlier in the same day,” she said, referring to initial promises to support impeachment.

A longtime senior resident from Europe urged calm amid the turmoil.

“The last time Koreans ousted President Park Geun-hye, Korea was praised around the world for the democratic and peaceful process,” he said. “It’s extremely important that things remain that way.”

For Jasmine Lee, who was the first foreign-born lawmaker in Korea’s history, the events stirred powerful memories.

Growing up in the Philippines, she witnessed the 1986 People Power Revolution — a sustained campaign of civil resistance that peacefully ended Ferdinand Marcos’s 20-year dictatorship. Later, as a member of Korea’s National Assembly from 2012 to 2016, she watched as millions of candlelight protesters successfully pushed for President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

“You’re kidding me, this is happening?” Lee recalled thinking when martial law was declared Tuesday night. “This is a country that came back from the ashes, that has prided itself on how democracy helped Korea become what it is today.”

Despite her initial shock at the martial law declaration, Lee said she fully expected Saturday’s massive turnout at the National Assembly. “It was really not even a surprise to me that people would go to the assembly before the lawmakers were even there,” she said. “Whatever happens with this particular impeachment motion, people will stand up.”

As opposition lawmakers remained in the chamber hoping for the five additional votes needed to reach the impeachment threshold, Lee’s faith in Korean democracy remained unshaken. “If it’s not the politicians who are going to do this,” she said, “it’s the people who will make it happen.”

The words seemed to echo through Yeouido’s streets, where protesters continued singing into the night, their voices mixing with the winter wind off the Han River.