Korean campuses divided over Yoon’s impeachment

With South Korea's Constitutional Court set to rule on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, college campuses have become a battleground for rival political opinions.

While pro-impeachment sentiment has dominated, protests and petitions opposing Yoon's impeachment have gained traction at major universities in Seoul, reflecting an escalating ideological divide among students.

Following rallies at Yonsei University on Feb. 10 and Seoul National University on Feb. 15, several other universities — including Korea University, Sogang University, Ewha Womans University, Hanyang University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies — are either planning or considering similar events.

The scale of support remains uncertain, but the growing number of organized declarations suggests a notable divide among students.

A group identifying as "Korea University Students for the Protection of Liberal Democracy" announced a pro-Yoon rally at the university’s Democracy Plaza on Thursday at 4 p.m. However, impeachment supporters at Korea University responded by scheduling a counter-protest at the same location one hour earlier on the same day.

At Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, four students posted an impeachment opposition statement on an online campus forum, attaching signed enrollment certificates to verify their identity.

"It is not Yoon who is violating the law, but rather the Democratic Party and the Constitutional Court, which are forcefully driving the impeachment process," they wrote, urging fellow students to sign a petition.

Similar actions encouraging petitions and fundraising efforts have surfaced at other universities. A group of Ewha Womans University students opened a fundraiser to support an anti-impeachment declaration, calling themselves “the proud female leaderships of South Korea” and urging fellow students to "defend the truth and protect liberal democracy in a time of national crisis."

At Sogang University, an anonymous post on an online student community announced plans for a pro-Yoon rally, directing students to a private messaging group. Reportedly, new members were required to verify their student status by submitting photos of student IDs and writing "eradicate communism" on a note.

Other regional university student groups said they would join the movement, including students at Chosun University in Gwangju who announced an anti-impeachment rally next Friday.

While these movements indicate a growing campus divide, the overall student sentiment still leans pro-impeachment. Critics argue that many attendees at these rallies are non-students, raising questions about the movement's authenticity. At Seoul National University’s pro-Yoon rally on Feb. 15, a significant number of participants were non-students, including YouTubers, prompting university officials to review security measures to prevent external interference.

As the divide intensifies among campuses, the school officials who spoke with The Korea Herald assured they would take active measures to ensure student safety.

Korea University insisted that it would continue to monitor the situation ahead of the pro-Yoon rally taking place Friday.

“Our office of student affairs and security teams are all aware of the growing concerns over the outsiders’ rally participation. In order to prevent any unsavory incidents, we shared the news about our student-led demonstration with Seongbuk-gu-based police stations and Seongbuk District Office,” said a Korea University official.

Regarding a rally scheduled at Chosun University on Feb 28, a school official told The Korea Herald that only students enrolled at the university can hold rallies on campus, and the school will closely monitor any outside group participating and orchestrating rallies for political purposes.

“Our students need to notify us about the rally five days in advance. We have yet to hear or receive anything related to the rally, but the university is reviewing different measures to allow our students to hold rallies peacefully and stay safe,” a Chosun University official said.

Lee Si-jin contributed to this article.