"Arrest!" "Traitor!"
Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choe Sang-mok appointed candidates Jeong Gye-seon and Jo Han-chang among the three constitutional court candidate judges on the 31st, prompting such remarks among demonstrators participating in a rally supporting President Yoon in front of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul. It is claimed that Choe abused authority and should be arrested.
Supporters of President Yoon held a rally in front of the Hannam-dong residence from the morning of the same day. After the court issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon at the request of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, the supporters gathered to prevent his arrest. While the police's unofficial estimate was about 300 people around 10:30 a.m., the crowd swelled to about 3,000 by 3 p.m. They occupied the sidewalk and three lanes on the 125-meter right section of Hannam-daero, waving the Taegeukgi and the U.S. national flag, the Stars and Stripes, chanting "Invalid impeachment" and "Arrest Lee Jae-myung."
The news that Acting President Choe appointed two out of three constitutional court candidate judges came through as a breaking news article around 5 p.m. on the same day. For the impeachment motion against President Yoon to be approved, at least six judges must agree according to the quorum requirement, but there were currently only six judges. Therefore, if even one opposed, the impeachment motion could not be upheld. With the appointment of two judges on this day, the likelihood of President Yoon's impeachment motion being upheld increased.
The organizer of the rally in front of the Hannam-dong residence, the Shin Jayu Yeondae coalition, relayed this news to the demonstrators seven minutes later. In response, around 3,000 people collectively lamented, shouting "Isn't this crazy?" and "Choe Sang-mok, you traitor." The coordinator stated, "[Choe, acting as the authority,] should be arrested immediately for abuse of authority," with the rally participants shouting "Arrest!" Additionally, a rally participant claimed, "If we solve these fraudulent elections, we can catch all the communists."
The rally time reported to the police by Shin Jayu Yeondae was until 4 p.m. However, it grew dark, and even at 6 p.m., they did not disperse. They continued the protest, waving red signal wands.
Most of the demonstrators, being middle-aged and older, also had physical confrontations with police during the day. When three rally participants noticed a vehicle entering the vicinity of the residence, they lay down in the road, suspecting an official from the Corruption Investigation Office had arrived to execute an arrest warrant. Despite the police advising it was a 'civilian vehicle,' they attempted to open the car door. They also directed abusive language at passersby, saying, "Coming here without the Taegeukgi, are you a commie?" When controlled by police, they retorted, "Are you guys Korean?"
As the protestors occupied the sidewalk, police set up barricades and moved to secure a passageway. Using a megaphone, the police announced, "To minimize inconvenience to citizens, we are setting up a passageway," and requested, "Although it may be inconvenient, please cooperate with the officers' measures until the passageway setup is complete." In response, protestors argued, saying things like, "Why don't you control the spies from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)?"
Yi (68), who participated in the pro-Yoon rally, stated, "Why is martial law, which is the president's governing action, considered a rebellion?" and added, "I will do anything to protect President Yoon." Kim (43), who works for a company in Hannam-dong, expressed frustration, noting, "It's already annoying that access is restricted due to the rally, and they accused me of being a commie and pushed because I wasn't waving the Taegeukgi or the Stars and Stripes. It's absurd."
Near the presidential residence, a small-scale protest of about five people urging President Yoon's resignation also took place from the morning of the same day. As the number of President Yoon’s supporters increased, they moved the rally site to the opposite side of Hannam-daero following the guidance of the police, who were concerned about possible clashes.