The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea is heading to the Constitutional Court this weekend to urge the dismissal of President Yoon Suk-yeol. As the conclusion of the impeachment trial of President Yoon approaches, this is interpreted as a strategy to rally its support base for an outdoor rally. This will be the first outdoor rally organized by the Democratic Party since the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon.
According to the political circles on the 21st, the Democratic Party will hold a "National Rally to Urge the Dismissal of Yoon Suk-yeol" at 3:30 p.m. near the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. A significant number of party leaders, including floor leader Park Chan-dae, and affiliated lawmakers are expected to participate. It has not yet been decided whether party leader Lee Jae-myung will attend.
This will be the first outdoor rally organized by the Democratic Party in about three months since the rally urging the acceptance of the special counsel law for Kim Keon-hee held on November 30 last year. After the state of emergency on December 3, members of the Democratic Party have engaged in outdoor activities by participating in rallies organized by civil society groups.
This rally is expected to be a "counter-rally" responding to the conservative forces strongly rallying ahead of the verdict on President Yoon's impeachment trial. The Democratic Party is likely to urge the Constitutional Court to expedite its ruling to dismiss President Yoon, as the discussions on the impeachment trial will conclude on the 25th. On the same day, conservative groups such as the Liberty Unification Party will hold opposition rallies against impeachment in the areas of Gwanghwamun and City Hall in Seoul, while the conservative Christian organization Save Korea will hold a rally against impeachment in Daejeon.
Democratic Party spokesperson Jo Seung-rae met with reporters the day before and said, "There has been a demand among party members for the party leadership to attend the rally and raise their voices," adding, "It is necessary to consolidate energy in the context of the significant progress in the phase of ending the civil unrest."
In particular, it is expected that a large number of Democratic Party aides and officials will participate in this rally. There is a prevailing atmosphere encouraging as many participants as possible to attend, out of concern that the scale of the rally may be smaller compared to the conservative groups' rally against impeachment. The anti-impeachment rally reportedly attracted more than 52,000 people (police estimate) at Dongdaegu Station Square on the 8th and about 30,000 (unofficial police estimate) on the 15th in Gwangju's Geumnam-ro.