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"Now it's Gwanghwamun! Please gather in front of Gwanghwamun for the immediate dismissal and punishment of Yoon Suk Yeol!"
"10 million people, approximately 1,030 speeches, 60 citizen marches, 145 kilometers, and around 220 performances"
"More than 1,800 rallies across 100 locations nationwide, as well as picketing and campaigning in various places abroad such as Germany, France, the UK, Japan, the US."
"Emergency action rallies and protests held almost every day since the release of rebel leader Yoon Suk Yeol"
"13 co-chair members of the Emergency Action for the Immediate Dismissal of Insurrectionist Yoon Suk Yeol go on hunger strike for 14 days, risking their lives"
"We spent 67 out of 123 days in the people’s assembly chanting for the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol and defense of democracy."
#EqualLawsForEveryone #NOYoonNOTrash #DismissYoonSukYeolintheNameofthePeople
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Youth Taking Action for the Removal of Yoon Suk Yeol
<Lee Jae-jeong>
representative of Youth Taking Action for the Removal of Yoon Suk-yeol
My name is Lee Jae jeong, and I am an active member of Youth Taking Action for the Removal of Yoon Suk Yeol, or Yoon Toe-cheong. I am also a co-representative of the 'Pan-Youth Action for the Resignation of Yoon Seok-yeol', which is a coalition of different youth civic organizations, as well as a co-leader of the Emergency Action for the Immediate Resignation of Yoon Suk-yeol and Social Reform.
"Dismissal Dismissal Yoon Seok-yeol Dismissal"
"Dismissal Dismissal Yoon Seok-yeol Dismissal"
<Lee Jae-jeong>
The Yoon Suk-yeol government has been criticized by so many people for the Itaewon tragedy or the Corporal Chae incident because it was a huge failure of this government to not take proper responsibility for the deaths of young people. In a way, it can be said to be the starting point, but many began to question everywhere where the voices of young people were. So, since tate of affairs declarations were being written by many professors those days, I began getting requests on social media for the creation of something similar by young people. That was our first declaration of the state of affairs. At that time, we called ourselves a group of “all youth,” not just a group of “youth.” We were planning to end our activities by releasing this declaration, but unexpectedly, martial law broke out.
"Let's incorporate that into our agenda as well"
<Lee Jae-jeong>
Some of my friends who worked on the manifesto were there that day, and we rushed to the National Assembly together, and we saw the armed soldiers and helicopters flying around after the emergency martial law, and we were like, "We have to do something." "There are people who can't be here right now, and they're watching with great sadness, so let's open a people’s square or something like that in the morning when it's daylight, where young people can come and talk freely," so we opened an emergency citizen's square at 11:00 a.m. on December 4th. I hastily put up a public notice at almost 5 a.m., and we had about 30 to 40 people, and that many people showed up, and it was an impromptu, unscripted event, where I just had a piece of paper with a slogan on it, and I just kept turning it around with impromptu remarks, and a lot of people participated.
December 4 Youth Citizen Square / National Assembly
Lee Jae-jeong / representative of Youth Taking Action for the Removal of Yoon Suk Yeol
Throughout the night, citizens were kept awake by the news of the declaration of martial law, the sound of helicopters flying overhead, and the sight of soldiers entering the National Assembly, the seat of democracy.
Kwon Si-u / Artist
I was feeling a lot of fear.
Kim Cheol-gyu / University Student
What I saw was that even in the midst of a crumbling democracy, people still jumped to their feet to defend this democracy, all different people, all different ages, all different genders, all different regions, coming out onto this national highway, blocking armored vehicles, blocking police.
Kwon Ha-ni / Graduate Student
I think there should be a thorough investigation into the process through which this martial law was carried out as part of a covert plan.
Park Se-young / University Student
The spirit of Gwangju is nothing other than the solidarity and struggle with each other in the square, in the streets, when an unruly regime comes in.
<Lee Jae-jeong>
The declaration of martial law was not the only failure of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, so we held a separate rally before the main one in order to incorporate our specific agendas as well. The most memorable thing I remember from the youth preliminary rally was this appeal from someone’s speech, "It was martial law which made me realize so seriously why the older generation talked about prosecution reform being so important, why political issues were so important. And I've become interested in these issues, so please lend us your ear on the gender issues, the LGBTQ issues, the climate issues, the issues that my generation is feeling so desperately about." I think that speech what really stuck with me, and I think that's what this people’s square taught us, and I think that's something that is important to be documented.
"I therefore declare that the vote on this motion has not been held."
December 7, 2024
Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment motion rejected
<Lee Jae-jeong>
We were so angry. So we talked about what we could do to send a strong message, and one of the concepts that came up was the idea of holding a funeral performance protest. There were some concerns about whether this was too much, but there was a sense that we had to at least do this. So we said, "Well, let's put our own spin on it," and one was, "In the West, they wear black coats and sunglasses to funerals, so let's take that concept," and the other was, "Let's dress ourselves as human garlands.”
Cha Ji-eon / Funeral Director
“Disband the People Power Party, the accomplice to the rebellion!”
“Disband Disband Disband Disband”
“I wish the deceased party a self dissolution”
“We pray We pray We pray”
“Apologize to the people by voting for impeachment
Apologize Apologize Apologize Apologize”
Dismissal Yoon Suk-yeol
Arrest Yoon Suk-yeol
<Lee Jae-jeong>
We had close to 200 people show up, even though it was the middle of the day on a weekday. I think a lot of people felt like that was the right amount of people to really express our anger.
"I wanted to show that at least in the square I was a strong person who could change the world."
<Lee Jae jeong>
I also think that the hearts that came out with the flags represented the hearts that wanted to be recognized by society. Those who said that the flags were a memorable moment to them elaborated, "When I saw so many rainbow flags flying in the square, I felt that my existence would not be erased this time." The flags that said, "Depressed people change the world.” I thought that the message came from the sentiment that even though I am depressed, suicidal, and in some ways considered weak by society, I wanted to show that within this square, I am a strong person who can change the world. I think that the flags in this square are all the more meaningful because I think that they show a kind of equality, a feeling of not wanting to be erased, and a feeling of wanting to be called out to.
And then there was a lot of media hype about why the generation of 20 to 30-year-olds were coming out to the rally, especially why women were coming out, and from our perspective, it felt like they were making a big fuss. Because there are definitely people who have always been deeply aware of the issue and acted on it, and there are definitely people who have stayed engaged and interested in them by sharpening their perspectives through social media. I knew a lot of young women around me who have consciously progressive ideas, even if they're not directly participating in the rallies, and it's a little disconcerting to talk about this as if it's the return of young people who had become very conservative. So how can we effectively gather our voices? Wouldn’t it be more accurate if we gathered and analyzed them ourselves? And so I think the discussion was, well, we're going to keep going to rallies anyway, so why don't we go out there and take surveys?
Before, we had talked mainly about different ways we're going to create qualitative change post democratization, whether it's through the #MeToo movement, protests against illegal filming, queer parades, various rallies related to labor, etc. But all of this common sense collapsed and discussion regressed to the point where we had to protect democracy from its bottom line. So these days, I think our generation has to think more serious about what to fill in during the process of rebuilding this deteriorated democracy. Still, I think it was very important for our generation to see that we were able to stop the crisis through the power of the people as democratic citizens and political participants. There was a sense of collective creation, even if one didn’t directly go to the square.
That's why I think it's all the more important that this situation is concluded well and the dismissal is properly dealt with because if it hadn’t been achieved with the power of citizens and victory, it could have been distorted or recorded as a failed history. In this way, I think the democracy that our generation has fought for and created can only be recorded correctly if it is properly concluded. I don't know how this situation will play out, but I think the citizens who have created this sense of community will definitely fight to the end and rewrite this page of history.
Kim Cheol gyu
College student / Yoon Toe-cheong Activist
We started with the dismissal, now let's move to equality. Feminists will save democracy. Workers will save democracy. Farmers, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, migrants, the countless invisibilized people right here in this room will save democracy. To everyone here, you will save democracy.
Photo/Video courtesy of
Youth Taking Action for the Removal of Yoon Suk Yeol
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