[From the Scene] Young Yoon supporter cries ‘foul’ over impeachment vote

Protesters gather outside the Blue Square hall at Hangangjin Station in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Saturday evening. (Choi Si-young/The Korea Herald)

A shrill voice from a bullhorn that pledged unwavering support for President Yoon Suk Yeol, not far from his residence in Hannam-dong, appeared to portend a rocky path ahead for the country as it awaits the Constitutional Court’s decision on Yoon’s impeachment.

Shortly after the National Assembly vote that impeached Yoon, his supporters gathered around Hangangjin Station. They felt that they had to protest the “unfair vote” and protect Yoon from “anti-state forces” that they said were coming for the conservative leader at the official presidential residence in Hannam-dong.

The youngest among the protesters was a middle school student, who took the stage and quickly rallied the protest, which appeared to be composed mostly of those in their 50s and 60s.

“Repeat after me: We demand an answer to election fraud,” the student said, chanting “election fraud” several times and repeating a refrain for Yoon supporters, who claim the April general election was tampered with. Police and prosecutors have dismissed the allegations.

The student, whisked away by protesters after the speech, was not available for further comment on his assertion.

Park, another protester at the scene, volunteered to elaborate, saying the election fraud claims are “real and need national attention.” Yoon gave a defiant speech ahead of the Saturday vote on Thursday, contending he would fight with confidence to preserve voter integrity.

A man named Chung, in his 70s, added that South Koreans are being “misled and the country is on the brink of not only chaos but collapse.”

“Voter fraud is just one thing,” Chung said. “It’s the ‘anti-state’ forces that are pushing this country to total destruction by paralyzing the Yoon government.”

Chung, who declined to give his full name, was referring to motions by the opposition-controlled National Assembly to impeach Yoon’s senior officials. Yoon himself told the nation in a televised speech that such motions were a sign of everything “antithetical to advancing South Korea’s interests.”

“The impeachment vote isn’t the end. It can’t be,” Chung said.