A protest calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol has occupied the road on the left side of Gyeongbokgung Palace since the morning of the 26th. They wrote 'Impeach Yoon Suk-yeol' and 'Yoon Suk-yeol OUT' in chalk on the asphalt road. This is similar to the 'Lacker protest' that took place at Dongduk Women's University last November, but this time they used chalk that can be easily erased.
The protest was launched unexpectedly. The trigger was the 'tractor rally' held by the National Farmers’ Association (Jeonnong) the previous day. Jeonnong gathered 30 tractors on 25 freight trucks at Namtaeryeong. The police set up barricades with buses to prevent tractors from entering Seoul, according to a court decision, except for 20 one-ton trucks.
However, a freight truck carrying one tractor bypassed Namtaeryeong and entered downtown Seoul. The tractor attempted to approach the rally site 'Immediate resignation of Yoon Suk-yeol, emergency action for social reform' located at the west crossroads of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Around 4:15 a.m. that day, the police found the tractor near the emergency action tent and began towing it around 6:30 a.m.
The protesters who were sitting in protest vehemently opposed the police's towing actions, and new protesters gathered in the area. They confronted the police on Jahamun Road. As a result, traffic was restricted in both directions on the section of Jahamun Road from Tongin Market to Gyeongbokgung Station for about 12 hours starting from 6:44 a.m.
The protest, consisting of about 500 people, demanded that the police return the tractor they towed. They held placards reading 'Immediate impeachment of the insurrection leader Yoon Suk-yeol,' 'Impeach Yoon Suk-yeol,' and 'Are you having fun with the tractor only?' More than 20 protesters sat or lay down on the road around the tractor to prevent the police from towing it away. The police prepared a forklift to tow the tractor but gave up on pulling it out of Jahamun Road.
Later, around 11:45 a.m., about 10 men and women in their 20s and 30s joined the tractor protest in downtown Seoul, bringing chalk and starting to write various phrases in white, blue, yellow, and red on the asphalt road around the tractor. The phrases included 'I’m so tired, please impeach him quickly' and 'Beautiful madness,' 'Farmers are citizens too, rights and dignity.' The facilitator also asked the participants around noon to 'write messages on the ground with chalk.'
The chalk graffiti was written over about 40 meters on three lanes toward Jahamun Tunnel. The area of the road damaged by the graffiti is estimated to be around 400 square meters. However, because it was chalk graffiti, it could be easily erased by rubbing it with a foot.
Current laws have several provisions for punishing acts of graffiti on roads. However, there are criticisms that punishing chalk graffiti is practically difficult.
Attorney Kim Beom-han of Law Firm YK noted, 'It is difficult to apply charges of property damage or damage to public property to chalk graffiti,' stating that, 'It is important whether it has harmed utility.' He added, 'There is a punishment provision in the Minor Offenses Punishment Act, but it is questionable whether a proper investigation will be conducted.'
With Jahamun Road leading to Gyeongbokgung Station being blocked, vehicles approaching downtown from the northwest of Seoul were diverted to Hyoja-ro. A nearby resident, Chun Mo (60), said, 'Cars going toward Buam-dong usually use Jahamun Road. Since they all have to detour, traffic will be very congested.' A passerby, Kim Mo (29), said, 'What will happen if the entire road is occupied?' adding that, 'It is inconvenient because I can’t take the village bus to the subway station.'