One Day Before Yoon's Verdict...Ruling Acceptance Dispute Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Continues Outside Parliament

Ruling Party: "Lee Jaemyung Effectively Refuses to Accept... Urges Declaration of Compliance"
Opposition: "Yoon Sukyeol Must Accept the Ruling... Warning of Bloodshed if Dismissed"

The impeachment ruling for President Yoon Suk-yeol is just one day away, but the political tensions between the ruling and opposition parties continue. While they are debating whether to accept the ruling, public opinion battles for and against impeachment persist outside the National Assembly.

On the 3rd, the People Power Party reaffirmed its existing stance to accept the impeachment ruling and pressured the opposition party. Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, claimed, "Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, has effectively declared non-acceptance." Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, also criticized, "Ahead of the ruling, the Democratic Party is creating a chaotic scene of non-acceptance and extreme remarks."

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on April 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The Democratic Party countered that acceptance is the responsibility of President Yoon, the perpetrator of the martial law situation. On the 2nd, when asked whether he would accept the impeachment ruling, Lee Jae-myung bluntly said, "Acceptance is something Yoon Suk-yeol should do." Earlier, on the 31st of last month, he mentioned that if President Yoon returns, "The entire Republic of Korea would be exposed to military martial law; imagine whether we can handle the tremendous chaos and bloodshed."

On the 1st, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-geun posted on social media (SNS), "If the Constitutional Court, with an incomplete and abnormal quorum, ultimately fails to dismiss or rejects the impeachment of the instigator of rebellion, Yoon Suk-yeol, it is obvious that this cannot be accepted." Since Lee has already expressed his willingness to accept, the Democratic Party's position is that if an official message must be issued, President Yoon should be the first to do so.

The ruling and opposition parties are also continuing their protests outside. On the morning of the 4th, they intend to rally their support base through public opinion battles until just before the Constitutional Court's ruling. About 60 lawmakers, mainly from the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction of the People Power Party, began an anti-impeachment protest near Anguk Station close to the Constitutional Court. This reactivated the relay protests that had been paused due to the wildfire response in Gyeongbuk. They plan to hold a 48-hour overnight sit-in until 7 a.m. on the 4th.

Although the leadership did not join the protests outside, they supported the public opinion efforts. Chairman Kwon delivered a book pointing out procedural issues in President Yoon’s impeachment trial to all 108 lawmakers of the ruling party. The book included a letter stating, "I give you this book with the hope that the impeachment should be dismissed for the future of the Republic of Korea."

Yonhap News

The Democratic Party will continue an overnight sit-in at Gwanghwamun and pro-impeachment rallies until the 4th. Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, will participate in a rally near Anguk Station in the evening, following the previous day. He plans to appeal to supporters to unite their efforts for the acceptance of impeachment.

As the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties continues until just before the ruling, voices expressing concern over public division are growing. There are calls to promote national stability starting from the Constitutional Court’s ruling. The Korea Constitutional Association, a group of former lawmakers, stated in an appeal, "Regardless of whether the Constitutional Court’s ruling on President Yoon’s impeachment trial is acceptance, dismissal, or rejection, the ruling and opposition parties and all citizens must unconditionally accept the decision."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.