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Protesters hold up signs and light sticks as they call for Yoon Suk-yeol to be removed from office at a rally organized by Bisang Action for Yoon Out & Social Reform near Gyeongbok Palace on March 12, 2025. (Yonhap)

 
After watching President Yoon Suk-yeol walk free from detention on Saturday following a court’s order for his release and the prosecution’s decision to not file an appeal, Koreans have been spurred to the streets by a sense of crisis over the past four days.
 
“100 days ago today, we witnessed the abrupt declaration of martial law,” a speaker at a protest in Seoul on Wednesday told the crowd. “As the insurrection has been dragging on for more than three months, I had hoped that today would be the day it would finally be put to an end. Why is the Constitutional Court delaying the answer we all know is coming?”
 
Wednesday, which marked the 100th day since the Dec. 3 insurrection attempt, saw thousands desperately shouting the slogan, “The Constitutional Court should immediately rule to impeach Yoon!”
 
The court has yet to give a definitive date on when it will reach its final verdict.
 
Bisang Action for Yoon Out & Social Reform held an emergency rally on Wednesday as part of a relay of daily protests that started the day after Yoon was released from prison. 150,000 people (according to organizer estimates) gathered in front of the main stage at the southeastern corner of Gyeongbok Palace’s outer wall while a procession of more than 30 booths where civil society organizations, labor unions, lawmakers and political parties were conducting sit-ins from last weekend and the tents of civilians participating in solidarity stretched all the way to the palace wall’s southwestern corner.
 
Those who had expressed frustration with the court and prosecution service following Yoon’s release now turned their ire toward the Constitutional Court. Past precedents indicated that the Constitutional Court would announce its verdict on Wednesday, but as it became more and more likely that the decision would be delayed until next week, a sense of anxiety grew among Koreans.
 
“If the decision was being delayed because the court needed sufficient time for the trial, that’d be fine,” said Lee Sang-min, 30, who was attending an emergency rally for the first time. “But as of now, it seems like Yoon’s camp is nitpicking at court procedures to buy time. It’s very frustrating. We just saw Yoon walk free. I felt ill at ease, so I came out today.”
 
An individual surnamed Kim, 51, who attended with their two children, commented, “A lot of time has passed since the insurrection attempt. Prudence may be a virtue, but it is high time for a decision. That is the only way everyone will return to normalcy.”

A participant in the rally for Yoon’s ouster on March 12 creates a protest sign calling for Yoon to be expelled from office with a calligraphy brush and inkstone. (Kim Ga-yoon/Hankyoreh)

 
Park Seok-woon, the leader of Bisang Action currently on his fifth day of a hunger strike, stood in front of his fellow protestors to say, “Three months have passed since the National Assembly passed the impeachment bill. Why is the Constitutional Court dillydallying? Whose interests is it serving? After experiencing the unexpected declaration of martial law and witnessing Yoon’s release from prison, the people of Korea are consumed by anxiety, afraid that yet another alarming turn of events will take place. The Constitutional Court should hurry to alleviate the people of their fears by declaring Yoon’s impeachment.”
 
At the same time, some expressed their wholehearted support for the Constitutional Court and what will be its prudent verdict.
 
“Seeing as it was without a doubt an insurrection, I have faith that the Constitutional Court will order his removal from office,” said Park Hyeon-cheol, 57, who said he’d come to the rally after getting off work that day. “I’m betting that they’re in the process of trying to come to a consensus for a unanimous ruling.”
 
Son Ki-jeong, 59, who traveled from Gimpo with a friend to participate in the rally said, “I’m a bit antsy, sure, but more so, I’m optimistic that they’re working to ensure there aren’t any procedural issues.”

Those gathered also resolved to show the court just how eager they are for it to remove Yoon from office by rallying in Gwanghwamun on Saturday.
 
“The more we come out in force, the less chance that the Constitutional Court justices think about making the wrong choice,” said Kwon Young-gook, the leader of the minor progressive Justice Party. “The decision was already clear on the night of Dec. 3. All that’s left is for we the people to gather in overwhelming numbers and show them we mean business.”
 
The rally concluded with the crowd chanting together the words they hope to hear from the Constitutional Court: “The respondent, President Yoon Suk-yeol, is removed from office!”

By Kim Ga-yoon, staff reporter
 
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