Home > National > Social Affairs

Stars and candles: Celebrities denounce Yoon over martial law order on social media

Published: 07 Dec. 2024, 17:06 Updated: 08 Dec. 2024, 17:08

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Actors Ko Hyun-jung, left, and Go Min-si react to the ongoing martial law turmoil on Saturday. [NEWS1, JOONGANG ILBO]

Celebrities across the entertainment industry are denouncing the president's actions surrounding the martial law turmoil.

Actor Ko Hyun-jung posted a candle emoji under a social media update rebuking the president's declaration of emergency martial law on Saturday.

Uploaded by director Byun Young-joo on Friday, the post featured an ongoing petition by the director's alma mater, Ewha Womans University, criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent actions.

Actor Go Min-si posted a candle emoji on her Instagram story with the words "3 p.m." on Saturday, seemingly encouraging people to rally ahead of the president's impeachment vote set for 5 p.m.

Singer-songwriter Lee Seung-yoon sings as a contestant on JTBC's vocal competition show "Sing Again" (2021). On Saturday, he denounced President Yoon Suk Yeol's actions surrounding the martial law turmoil through his social media. [JTBC]

Singer-songwriter Lee Seung-yoon also wrote on his Instagram story Saturday, saying that Yoon's brief public apology televised on the same day was a "half-hearted attempt to pass the buck."

"To think of it as something that will end with 'Oh, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again,' without a genuine and full explanation and accounting for the context, misjudgment and hubris, is an uncomfortable statement to hear as an ordinary citizen."

Over 2,500 people in the film industry have also called for the impeachment of the president, according to the Association for Film Industry Crisis and Recovery on Saturday.

The list of signatories includes “Parasite” (2019) director Bong Joon-ho and "Decision to Leave" director Park Chan-wook.

Yoon declared emergency martial law Tuesday night, but retracted it six hours later following a unanimous vote at the National Assembly as well as fierce public outcry. The state of authority, intended to be used during emergencies when the government cannot function, puts the military in temporary control and limits democratic freedoms.

Correction, Dec. 8: A previous version of this article misidentified signatories Gang Dong-won, Son Ye-jin, Kim Go-eun, Jun Ji-hyun, Park Eun-bin and Cha Seung-won as actors.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]