Seoul National University, South Korea's top university and the alma mater of President Yoon Suk Yeol, has joined a growing wave of calls for his resignation on Thursday, a movement that has been spreading across universities and the religious sector nationwide since late October.
A total of 525 SNU professors held a press conference at the university's museum in Seoul on Thursday, announcing their participation in the movement of institutions issuing declaration spreading across the country, calling for Yoon to step down.
"We call for the resignation of Yoon Suk Yeol with deep regret and a sense of duty to history and the public. The SNU students are now expressing shame in sharing their alma mater with Yoon," the professors' statement read.
"Democracy has collapsed and regression and retrogression are serious in all areas. President Yoon must step down as soon as possible. His resignation is absolutely necessary for the future of Korean society."
The statement also said, "We urgently need to restore a rational national system that can deal with pressing changes in the international situation, the economic crisis, the population crisis, the climate crisis, etc."
Korea is seeing a wave of faculty across its universities calling for Yoon's resignation, with about 4,000 professors and researchers from almost 70 universities nationwide participating in the declaration movement as of Friday.
The movement of university professors’ statements calling for Yoon’s resignation started with those of Gachon University on Oct. 28, and then spread to other schools, including: Korea University, Yonsei University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang University, Sookmyung Women's University, Kookmin University, Kyung Hee University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Chung-Ang University, Ewha Womans University and Sungkyunkwan University.
Additionally, the faculty of national universities such as Chonnam National University, Chungnam National University and Kyungpook National University have issued joint declarations urging Yoon to step down.
These declarations generally express similar concerns.
For instance, the declaration statement from Yonsei University professors on Nov. 21 emphasized their discontent with the Yoon administration, describing it as marked by incompetence and the reckless use of power.
They specifically criticized issues such as the Yoon administration's response to the Itaewon disaster, its alleged interference in a military investigation into the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun, labor and media suppression, distortion of historical issues, submissive diplomacy toward the US and Japan, hostile policy toward North Korea, tax cuts for the rich and slashing of research and development funds.
"You are no longer our president," they said, calling for Yoon to apologize for his actions and resign.
The movement has also expanded to the religious sector, with a total of 1,466 Catholic priests, including five high-ranking clergy, issuing a public declaration on Thursday calling for Yoon’s resignation.
Their statement criticized the president for failing to fulfill his constitutional duties and accused him of fostering division and undermining public trust.
"Unable to ignore the fierce outcry of the people, we join this public statement to demand his removal. Yoon has abandoned his duties according to the Constitution, to protect the nation, promote peaceful unification and enhance the welfare of the people. It is time to hold him accountable and declare his dismissal," the declaration read.
Meanwhile, Yoon's approval rating fell to 19 percent, a 1 percentage point drop from the previous week, as of Friday, according to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea polling agency with 1,001 voters.
