Main opposition holds outdoor rally calling for Yoon’s removal from office

SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) — The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) held a rally near the Constitutional Court in central Seoul on Saturday, calling for the court to decide to remove impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office for his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

During the rally, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said South Korea will be “doomed” if Yoon returns, calling him the “mastermind” behind the Dec. 3 martial law imposition.

“We cannot live in a lawless hell overrun by terror and riots,” he said.

At the rally, DP Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui also said Yoon will “certainly be unanimously removed by an 8-0 ruling.”

Currently, there are eight justices on the bench after acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two. By law, consent from at least six justices is required for an impeachment to be upheld.

The DP estimated that approximately 35,000 people, including 80 lawmakers and the party’s leadership, attended the rally.

This marks the DP’s first outdoor rally since the martial law declaration.