Nobel laureate in literature Han Kang participates in a press conference held at a publishing house in Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 11. (Yonhap)

As South Korean lawmakers prepared to vote for a second time on impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol, questions posed by this year's winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, Han Kang, took center stage -- “Can the present save the past? Can the living save the dead?”

During Saturday's plenary session at the National Assembly, Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, referenced Han Kang’s Dec. 7 lecture as he presented the case for impeaching President Yoon.

Quoting Han, and the questions Han said were often foremost in her mind, Park said, “While preparing (her book) 'Human Acts,' author Han Kang read the diary entries of a young night school teacher who lost his life in May 1980. She realized her questions needed to be reversed. Instead of asking, ‘Can the present save the past? Can the living save the dead?' she asked, ‘Can the past help the present? Can the dead save the living?’”

Reflecting on the Dec. 3 martial law crisis, Park continued, “I want to answer ‘Yes’ to these questions. May 1980 saved December 2024.”

Drawing parallels between the "twin-like" martial law declarations of 1980 and 2024, Park emphasized the enduring significance of Gwangju’s history.

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, delivers an explanation of the presidential impeachment motion during a plenary session at the National Assembly, Saturday. (Yonhap)

“If it weren’t for the citizens who stormed out to the National Assembly in outrage against President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3; if there hadn’t been enough lawmakers climbing over the walls of the National Assembly to break through police blockades; if the martial law forces had stormed into the National Assembly by helicopter and dragged lawmakers out before the vote; or if commanders and soldiers of the martial law forces had fully carried out unjust orders, South Korea today would be no different from Gwangju in May 1980,” the three-term lawmaker said.

“When this unimaginable martial law was declared (by Yoon Suk Yeol), Gwangju of May 1980 guided us in December 2024. The courage of Gwangju’s citizens 44 years ago, who, even in isolation and desperation, stood against the martial law forces with the resolve to face death, has become the driving force for us today. The past saved the present. The dead saved the living. South Korea’s democracy owes a great debt to Gwangju,” he said, calling on lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party to support the impeachment motion.

Lawmakers with the ruling People Power Party listen to Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Park Chan-dae's explanation of the presidential impeachment motion during a plenary session at the National Assembly, Saturday. (Yonhap)

Despite the PPP’s opposition to the second impeachment motion, the National Assembly passed it on Saturday with 204 votes in favor and 85 against, surpassing the two-thirds majority of 200 votes required. This marked a sharp contrast to the first impeachment motion on Dec. 7, which failed to reach the threshold after PPP lawmakers walked out ahead of the vote.

Delivering her Nobel Prize lecture "Light and Thread" in Korean on Dec. 7, Han delved into the questions that compelled her to immerse herself in the creative process.

"Human Acts" draws upon the democratization uprising of May 18, 1980, in Gwangju, the city where Han grew up.

Nobel laureate in literature Han Kang participates in a press conference held at a publishing house in Stockholm, Sweden, Dec. 11. (Yonhap)