Some 50 Korean Americans held a rally in front of the White House in Washington on Friday to call for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law attempt last week as they underscored their support for a resilient democracy in South Korea.
A civic group, called the Global Candlelight Action, organized the event in tandem with various other activist groups. Such rallies have taken place or been set to occur in more than a dozen US cities this week, including New York, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Boston, according to an organizer.
Friday's event came as South Korea's National Assembly was set to vote on a second impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday (Korea time).
"I was very frustrated and ashamed when watching the martial law news updates," Cho Hyun-sook, a Washington coordinator of the Korea Peace Now, told reporters during the rally in Lafayette Square.
"I couldn't help but get reminded of the Gwangju uprising in 1980," she added, referring to a pro-democracy uprising in South Korea's southwestern city of Gwangju.
Also participating in the rally was Irene Kim, a university student in Washington.
"I have kept on checking related news every day," she said, voicing concerns over the aftermath of Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition. "More than six of my friends told me that they hoped my country would be fine."
Lee Jae-soo, a Washington coordinator of the GCA, said that the rally was arranged to demonstrate that Korean American activists stand in solidarity with South Korean activists who have been participating in demonstrations in front of the National Assembly.
Yoon abruptly declared emergency martial law on Dec. 3 but retracted the decree hours later following social and political blowback. (Yonhap)
