Tractors from the Korean Peasants League, which staged a protest calling for the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol, are seen stopped near Namtaeryeong Pass in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Sunday, following more than a daylong standoff with police. A sign reading "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" is visible at the scene. Yonhap
Tractors from the Korean Peasants League, which staged a protest calling for the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol, are seen stopped near Namtaeryeong Pass in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Sunday, following more than a daylong standoff with police. A sign reading "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" is visible at the scene. Yonhap

South Korea saw a wave of nationwide protests, with throngs including tractor-riding farmers and light stick-waving demonstrators filling the streets to demand the president's permanent removal and immediate resignation, on the first weekend after Yoon Suk Yeol’s suspension by the National Assembly.

Gwanghwamun Square was also split, with counterprotesters present to oppose his impeachment while a rally calling for his ouster took place about a kilometer away.

A tense standoff between the Korean Peasants League and police, broadcast live via the association's YouTube channel, stretched for around 28 hours from Saturday noon to Saturday afternoon near Namtaeryeong Pass in southern Seoul.

Members of the Korean Peasants League drove dozens of tractors and cargo trucks in an attempt to reach Yoon’s official residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, demanding the president’s immediate arrest.

However, the tractors and cargo trucks were blocked by police along the way after attempting to enter Seoul via Gwacheondaero. Police halted their progress near Namtaeryeong Pass in Seocho-gu, citing traffic disruptions.

Livestreams on YouTube showed protesters demanding the removal of police barricades, waving light sticks to K-pop music, and chanting slogans such as "Yoon Suk Yeol, vacate the office!" and "Move the (police) vehicles!"

Though police buses initially formed a barrier to block the tractors, they withdrew from Namtaeryeong by around 4:40 p.m. on Sunday.

The civic group named Emergency Action for Yoon Suk Yeol’s Immediate Resignation and Comprehensive Social Reform, which organized the rally alongside the Korean Peasants League, announced at 3:50 p.m. that they would march from Namtaeryeong Subway Station with about 10 tractors and the entire group of participants to Sadang Subway Station.

At Sadang Station, the tractors would continue their march toward Yoon’s residence while other participants took the subway to join the rally in front of the residence at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday.

The Korean Peasants League members riding tractors and trucks began their journey from around the country on Dec. 16 and gathered in front of the government complex in Sejong on Thursday for a rally condemning acting President Han Duck-soo’s veto of the Grain Management Act before heading to Seoul.

Tractors continue their march toward the presidential residence in Hannam-dong in central Seoul on Sunday afternoon, after being blocked by police and their buses for around 28 hours near Namtaeryeong Pass in southern Seoul since Saturday noon. Members of the Korean Peasants League have driven dozens of tractors and cargo trucks, calling for the arrest and resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol, while criticizing his short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3. (Yonhap)
Tractors continue their march toward the presidential residence in Hannam-dong in central Seoul on Sunday afternoon, after being blocked by police and their buses for around 28 hours near Namtaeryeong Pass in southern Seoul since Saturday noon. Members of the Korean Peasants League have driven dozens of tractors and cargo trucks, calling for the arrest and resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol, while criticizing his short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3. (Yonhap)

In Seoul, simultaneous rallies took place in and around the Gwanghwamun area on Saturday, with demonstrators sharply and visibly divided between supporting and opposing the impeachment of Yoon.

Unlike the previous weekend, when protests calling for Yoon’s resignation were held where the National Assembly is located in Yeouido and those opposing impeachment took place in Gwanghwamun, both groups converged in the Gwanghwamun area this Saturday.

Conservative groups held a pro-Yoon rally on Sejongdaero, about 1 kilometer from the anti-Yoon demonstration. Participants carried placards and flags, including the national flags of South Korea and the United States, with slogans such as "Investigating martial law is treason" and "Eradicate pro-North Korean elements."

The unofficial police estimate placed the number of participants at 36,000, while organizers claimed the turnout reached 2 million.

Meanwhile, an anti-Yoon rally organized by Emergency Action for Yoon Suk Yeol’s Immediate Resignation and Comprehensive Social Reform took place in front of the main palace Gyeongbokgung, drawing an estimated 25,000 participants, according to unofficial police estimates, though organizers claimed 300,000.

A smaller rally near Anguk Station attracted about 3,500 attendees, based on police estimates. Protesters, holding light sticks and chanting slogans like "Dismiss Yoon Suk Yeol" and "Arrest him now," began marching through key landmarks, including the Anguk-dong intersection near the Constitutional Court.

On Saturday, rallies demanding Yoon's impeachment and resignation erupted nationwide, including in traditionally conservative strongholds such as Daegu and Busan.

In Daegu, the "Immediate Dismissal of Yoon Suk Yeol and Dissolution of the People Power Party" rally was held. Similarly, in Busan, protesters gathered in Seomyeon, the city’s largest downtown area, demanding his ouster.

Protests with similar demands were also held on Jeju Island as well as in North Chungcheong Province, Gangwon Province, North and South Jeolla Provinces and Gwangju, highlighting unabated nationwide discontent.


dagyumji@heraldcorp.com