From the self-immolation of a Yoon supporter on March 7 to the egging of a main opposition party lawmaker in front of the Constitutional Court Thursday, violence and threats of it have become more frequent with South Korea's political crisis deepening, as suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment verdict continues to be pushed back -- with 108 days having passed since Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law debacle.
On Thursday morning, Rep. Back Hye-ryun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea was pelted with eggs while she joined a press conference calling for Yoon's swift impeachment in front of the Constitutional Court and about 30 of Yoon’s supporters protesting against his impeachment. The police have yet to confirm the identity of the person who threw the eggs at Back.
Beside Back, other lawmakers of the Democratic Party present at the press conference had eggs and bananas thrown at them, with Yoon’s supporters hurling profanities about the Democratic Party and accusing the police deployed to disperse them of being "commies."
Following the incident, Back referred to the attack as “an unacceptable act in a democratic society,” saying that the situation has escalated to a point where “hard-line supporters of Yoon have reached the level of committing terrorism in broad daylight against members of the National Assembly, a constitutional body."
“Social conflict caused by President Yoon’s trampling of the constitutional order has become dangerously severe,” wrote Back on her Facebook account. “Acts of violence being normalized in front of the Constitutional Court can no longer be tolerated. I promise to pursue strong legal action.”
A male Yoon supporter, 79, died on Wednesday after attempting self-immolation on the rooftop of a building near Seoul City Hall after scattering fliers supporting Yoon. He marked the second case of a Yoon supporter dying from self-immolation this year, with the first being a man in his 50s on Jan. 15.
The presidential office announced to the press that it sent a staff member to the funeral of the deceased to offer condolences, Thursday.
On the same day, the presidential office urged those among Yoon's supporters who are engaging in hunger strikes to stop.
Opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, on the other hand, faced criticism from the ruling party on Thursday for words he said about acting President Choi Sang-mok not following the Constitutional Court's ruling ordering him to appoint Ma Eun-hyuk as the ninth justice.
“Any citizen can act on arresting acting President Choi as a criminal caught in the act of neglecting his official duties,” said Lee, who survived an assassination attempt in January 2024 and has been under police protection since early this week amid reports of assassination threats targeting him.
“He should be careful,” he added.
Regarding Lee’s comments, head of the ruling People Power Party’s emergency leadership committee, Rep. Kwon Young-se, criticized Lee for “inciting terrorism through his fanbase.”
With South Korean society having become more divided politically and with this division seeming to escalate, professor Park Won-ho from Seoul National University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations told The Korea Herald that people should "exercise self-restraint" and "avoid hate-driven politics,” to avoid the situation worsening when the Constitutional Court delivers its ruling on Yoon’s impeachment.
“Currently, politics in Korea is driven by emotions of hatred and blame, either toward a specific politician or party. Based on this idea, many politicians are seen these days inciting even more hatred among divided voters,” said Park.
“Even when voters remain divided, politicians should refrain from intervening to minimize escalating the situation. But instead of calming things down, politicians are exploiting the division.”
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
