'Yoon steps down and Lee goes to jail. Simple.'

On Saturday, large-scale conservative and progressive rallies were held in downtown Seoul. Conservative protesters called for the arrest of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party (DP), while progressive protesters called for the resignation of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Right-wing political associations including the Liberty Unification Party led by Jeong Kwang-hoon held a demonstration at 1:30 p.m. As of 5 p.m., police estimated that approximately 33,000 people had gathered at the event, with organizers putting the figure at 150,000.

In the meanwhile, progressive activists held an anti-government protest at 4 p.m. As of 6 p.m., police estimated that the number of participants stood at about 20,000, while the organizers put the number at 300,000.

Waving Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, and the American flag, conservative activists shouted out slogans like “arrest Lee Jae-myung immediately,” mentioning the arrest of Kim Yong, deputy head of the Institute for Democracy, on charges of illicitly receiving money for Lee’s 2022 presidential election campaign. They also claimed that former President Moon Jae-in must be arrested to take responsibility for North Korea’s killing of a Fisheries official in 2020.

On the other hand, progressive activists called for Yoon to step down and called for a special probe into first lady Kim Keon-hee.

#approval_rating_is_twenty
“Only six months have passed since the president took the office. The fact that people are demanding he step down is a problem.”
“Look at what is happening in this country. The current administration is only focusing on denouncing the former government. That’s the very reason people participated in the demonstration.”

#not_every_protest_is_truthful
“Untruthful demonstrations again. Wasn’t it enough for them, with the protests related to mad cow disease and the Sewol ferry disaster?”
“Those massive rallies have become part of our political culture. It’s not normal.”

#political_polarization_engulfs_Korea
“Yoon Seok-yeol steps down and Lee Jae-myung goes to jail. Simple.”
“Korea is a democratic nation, they say. But there’s no politicians who admit their faults and take responsibility.”

BY KIM AH-YOUNG, BY HAN HYE-RIM [han.hyerim1@joongang.co.kr]