South Korea's Main Opposition Rallies in Seoul Demanding Lee Jae Myung's Impeachment: Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk Says 'Impeachment Is the Only Answer'
SEOUL — South Korea's main opposition People Power Party held a "national rally" in front of Gyeongbokgung Station in Seoul's Jongno District on the afternoon of November 7, condemning the ruling Democratic Party for ramming a special counsel bill tied to President Lee Jae Myung's trials through the National Assembly on November 6. The party says the bill is meant to withdraw the indictment against Lee and cancel his trials.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk told the rally that Lee had "defrauded the entire nation" and was "no longer the president of the Republic of Korea," adding: "Impeachment is now the only answer. Shouldn't we impeach him immediately and drag him down?" He also urged the judiciary, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, not to hesitate and to resume Lee's trial immediately.
The party's floor leader told the rally that the bill the Democratic Party forced through on November 6 was a special counsel bill designed to cancel the indictment and the president's trial. The party pressed Lee to veto the bill and hinted it could link its response to deliberations on the budget.
About 70 People Power Party lawmakers, along with a large number of district chapter chiefs from outside parliament, attended the rally, according to Yonhap News Agency; the party put turnout at 150,000, while police estimated about 6,000.
The party plans to hold an on-site supreme council meeting and a general assembly of its lawmakers in front of the Blue House on November 9 and 10, continuing its street campaign against the bill.
The Democratic Party responded that the opposition should stop misleading the public, and that if it was convinced the original investigations were legitimate, it should recommend a special prosecutor candidate first instead of taking its fight outside the Assembly.
(Source: Yonhap News Agency)
Source: Yonhap News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：首尔光化门广场（集会地点景福宫站一带）。图片来源：大韩民国韩国网摄（CC BY-SA 2.0），经Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, near Gyeongbokgung Station, where the rally was held. Image: Republic of Korea / Korea.net (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
