Acting President Choi seemingly criticizes courthouse violence amid partisan war of words
Published: 20 Jan. 2025, 18:55
Updated: 20 Jan. 2025, 19:00
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
![Acting President Choi Sang-mok presides over a safety inspection meeting at the Sejong government complex on Jan. 20. [MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/20/e63a7d4e-a094-4fe5-9ce9-a751fe77747d.jpg)
Acting President Choi Sang-mok presides over a safety inspection meeting at the Sejong government complex on Jan. 20. [MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE]
During a safety inspection meeting at the Sejong governmental complex, Choi expressed “deep regret” over the political protesters’ vandalism at the Seoul Western District Court.
In the early hours of Sunday, when the court approved the warrant against Yoon, more than 60 protesters broke into the courthouse compound to retaliate against a judge who issued the warrant.
The acting president said voices should always be presented democratically in accordance with the Constitution and legal provisions. He added that “democracy starts from an adherence to laws.”
Choi’s remarks suggest he considers the pro-Yoon protesters’ riot unlawful and undemocratic.
Choi said that societal conflict would intensify if people keep arguing through illegal and violent behavior when the country is facing “unprecedented hardship with the incumbent head of state arrested.”
The acting president asked law enforcement authorities to implement and execute laws “fairly and sternly to ensure all demonstrators abide by law and procedures prescribed by legal provisions in all situations.”
![A building of the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul is seen damaged on Jan. 19, a day when pro-Yoon Suk Yeol demonstrators stormed the courthouse. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/20/66f0fa67-0e7e-4e61-b54f-3d72c82bf2ce.jpg)
A building of the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul is seen damaged on Jan. 19, a day when pro-Yoon Suk Yeol demonstrators stormed the courthouse. [YONHAP]
During a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae accused the PPP of “inciting its supporters by denying judicial judgments after the insurrection on Dec. 3.” The insurrection refers to Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law.
Park also said PPP lawmakers denied judicial order and contributed to paralyzing state affairs by consistently defending Yoon after he declared an “unconstitutional and illegal martial law.”
DP spokesperson Han Min-soo told reporters that the PPP should expel Yoon from its party member registry immediately and that Yoon should duly participate in the investigation. DP Rep. Kim Byung-joo said the “extremists” learned aggressive behavior from Yoon and staged their violence based on his example.
![A set of surveillance camera installed at the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul is seen destroyed on Jan. 20. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/20/24fe7f00-2386-4af9-a539-03b9e8aaeb33.jpg)
A set of surveillance camera installed at the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul is seen destroyed on Jan. 20. [NEWS1]
PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se said there was "no excuse for using violence to nail down one’s stance.” He said violent behavior would delegitimize the party's stance and intensify social chaos.
PPP spokesperson Shin Dong-uk said lawmakers who encouraged or tolerated the storming of the courthouse were "unqualified" to sit in the National Assembly.
However, the PPP accused police of double standards, saying they harshly treat pro-Yoon protesters while leniently responding to protesters from left-wing labor groups. Kwon said police might have released the pro-Yoon rioters if they were from a leftist union.
On Monday, police filed arrest warrant requests against 66 suspects who allegedly stormed the court and obstructed investigative authorities’ operations. Some 90 people have been apprehended by police on charges of attacking the Seoul Western District Court and the Constitutional Court and blocking the operations of investigative officers.
Shin said the police’s directive to detain and question all protesters involved in the storming before they completed collecting evidence is against the rule of law. PPP Rep. Choi Hyung-du said the liberal DP's political moves have rendered the police powerless.
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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