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Impeachment protests test nerves, patience of Hannam-dong residents

Published: 07 Jan. 2025, 18:49 Updated: 07 Jan. 2025, 19:02

Protesters opposing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol rally near the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, on Jan. 7. [YONHAP]

Despite the severe cold wave that hit Seoul on Tuesday, the protests surrounding President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment showed no signs of subsiding anytime soon.

Protesters for and against Yoon’s impeachment gathered around the president’s residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday, waving flags and wearing thick clothing with condensation forming from their mouths as they shouted slogans.

"From Friday night to Sunday night last week, they played music nonstop for 24 hours and protested in the form of a sit-in, so I barely got any sleep," said 29-year-old office worker surnamed Lee. "I moved to Hannam-dong because I liked the quiet atmosphere, but for the first time, I regretted it."

Anti-Yoon protesters were flying flags and carrying placards saying “Down with the president.” Pro-Yoon protestors were spotted flying the American flag with placards reading “Stop the Steal,” a reference to conspiracy theories of election fraud popularized by supporters of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the United States.

Protestors devised different ways of fighting the cold, with some lying on benches lined with hand warmers, and many could be spotted from miles away, wrapped up in silver thermal blankets.

Buses, seemingly rented by protestors, were lined up on the side of the street. Protesters fleeted in and out of the vehicles, warming themselves up after being exposed to the cold winter winds for extended periods.

"The 10 cups of coffee I bought earlier froze up," said Choi Yong-joon, a 59-year-old store owner who was part of the anti-Yoon protestors on Monday. "They turned into iced coffee. It is cold, but I wanted to protect my country."

Protesters demanding the arrest and impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol rally near the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 7. [YONHAP]

According to a survey released on Monday by pollster Realmeter, support for the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has risen by 3.8 percent in a week, reaching 34.5 percent. The survey was conducted from Thursday to Friday with a sample size of 1,001 people over 18.

After the declaration of martial law, the PPP's approval rating fell to 25.7 percent.

In particular, a notable consolidation of support was observed among voters in the so-called conservative strongholds of Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang, where the PPP’s approval ratings surpassed those of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) by 10.1 percent.

Still, the overall protests were smaller than Sunday, when investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police attempted to take Yoon into custody after some five and half hours — while they were blocked by the Presidential Security Service (PSS) and military personnel, joined by pro-Yoon protestors who attempted to stop the arrest by scrummaging with officials and lying down.

Some residents of Hannam-dong showed signs of fatigue due to the constant disturbances caused by the noise of protests and public officials being deployed to the scene.

A 37-year-old surnamed Han said that he was grabbed by a protester wielding the Korean and U.S. flags who demanded he call DP leader Lee Jae-myung a "piece of [expletive]."

A notice on a bathroom door in a cafe in Hannam-dong in Yongdan District, central Seoul, encourages proper hygiene on Jan. 7. [JO SU-BIN]

Some nearby cafes hung signs on their restroom doors saying that they are off-limits, with reports of people urinating in places they shouldn’t have.

"There are people that think [the protests] are a good thing since there will be more sales, but that is definitely not the case," said a 50-year-old cafe owner surnamed Kim. "Regular customers have stopped coming, and with the blatant use of profanity and acts of violence, the stress has reached its peak."

"At least 100 people use the restroom without permission daily," said another 44-year-old cafe owner, Baek. "One time, they accused me of being a 'commie' because I wouldn't let 'patriots protecting the country' use the bathroom."

A gukbap (rice soup) store owner in Hannam-dong uploaded a now-deleted post on social media on Sunday, where they said they wanted to “shoot down all protestors left or right” because they were “creating so much noise.”

Police block protesters calling for the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol near the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 4. [NEWS1]

In response to reports from people suffering from the political unrest and protests, the Seoul Metropolitan Government decided Tuesday to regulate illegal road protests.

While the city is not directly responsible for overseeing protests and assemblies, it plans to file complaints against the involved organizations with investigative authorities if such traffic obstructions persist. Measures such as rerouting city buses, allowing flexible nonstop subway services and providing traffic information are also being considered.

BY LEE YOUNG-KEUN, LEE AH-MI, KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]