Residents Take to the Streets... Aftermath of Ruling Party's 'Impeachment Boycott'

The impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol, who triggered the 'December 3 Martial Law Incident,' was automatically discarded on the 7th due to the absence of lawmakers from the People Power Party during the National Assembly vote, sparking a fierce backlash.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who led the motion to discard the impeachment, stated on the 8th that they advocate for an 'orderly resignation' and intend to push for President Yoon's exclusion from duties. However, opposition parties argued that there is no legal basis for suspending the duties of a sitting president by the ruling party and have resumed efforts to reintroduce the impeachment. Additionally, movements condemning the People Power Party for abstaining from the impeachment vote emerged across the country.

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On the same day, 22 academic societies in the fields of social policy and healthcare issued a joint statement, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration attempted to completely dismantle democracy and social solidarity by depriving the people of their freedom of assembly and association through martial law and shutting down public discourse." They added, "The People Power Party lawmakers' refusal to participate in the impeachment vote solely for the party's interests and safety directly opposes the will of the people anxious about a second martial law and will stand alongside Yoon Seok-yeol in the court of history."

They further urged, "The National Assembly must immediately impeach Yoon Seok-yeol, the ringleader of the rebellion, thoroughly investigate the unconstitutionality of the martial law and the illegality of attacks on the National Assembly and the Election Commission, and promptly proceed with the arrest and punishment of those responsible for the rebellion."

Resident doctors, angered by the martial law command's proclamation specifying the 'punishment of resident doctors,' poured into the streets that day. This was the first time resident doctors acted collectively on their own since the medical-government conflict began in February.

Young doctors, including those who resigned, attended the 'Medical Martial Law Condemnation Rally' held at Marronnier Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, hosted by the Seoul National University Hospital Resident Council Emergency Committee, and then marched around the Daehak-ro area.

In their declaration, the Resident Doctors' Emergency Committee stated, "The People Power Party, forgetting their status as lawmakers, did not impeach Yoon Seok-yeol, who instigated the rebellion, and instead protected him," adding, "The People Power Party will be recorded in history as lawmakers who sympathized with the rebellion." They emphasized, "We must revert the medical school expansion and medical reform policies initiated by the rebel leader Yoon Seok-yeol to their original state," and vowed, "We will resist the medical deterioration to the end."

On the 7th, the day of the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, citizens in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, watched as the People Power Party lawmakers left without participating in the vote on the impeachment motion, wearing somber expressions. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

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In Gwangju, a general rally of citizens was held, hosted by the 'Gwangju Emergency Action for the Resignation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Regime,' composed of 99 organizations.

The Gwangju Emergency Action stated, "The 'orderly early resignation' claimed by the People Power Party is absurd," and asserted, "The People Power Party refused the people's order to immediately impeach Yoon Seok-yeol, the ringleader of the rebellion. The People Power Party, which sympathized with the rebellion, must be disbanded."

At Seo-kwang Square near Daejeon Station, candlelight activists from Daejeon, Seosan Dangjin, Cheonan Asan, Cheongju, members of the Democratic Party Daejeon City Party Rank-and-File Council, and officials from the Social Democratic Party Daejeon City Party held the 'Daejeon-Chungcheong Voters' Rally Calling for Yoon Seok-yeol's Impeachment and the Dissolution of the People Power Party.' They condemned the failure of the impeachment motion due to the majority of People Power Party lawmakers abstaining from the vote and called for the resignation of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who caused the emergency martial law incident. They also chanted slogans demanding the dissolution of the People Power Party, labeling it as an accomplice in the crime of rebellion.

Political circles and civil society in the Jeonbuk region criticized the failure of the National Assembly vote on President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment, calling for the dissolution of the People Power Party for sympathizing with the rebellion. The Progressive Party Jeonbuk Provincial Party issued a statement that day, saying, "The day before, the People Power Party ultimately sabotaged the impeachment of Yoon Seok-yeol, who pointed a gun at the people," and criticized, "The People Power Party has admitted that it is not a ruling party but a rebel party unqualified under the constitution."

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