South Korea: Huge disappointment for protesters as president saved by his own party

7 December 2024, 17:05 | Updated: 7 December 2024, 18:34

At the gates of the national assembly in Seoul, there was huge disappointment as the news hit that the president, who they wanted punished, had been saved by his own party.

Most members of the ruling party boycotted the impeachment vote in South Korea's parliament. Those calling for his imprisonment at the gates cried sabotage.

"I think they are crazy. I think they are standing for the president not for the people," one protester told me. "They have to change their mind. To support the people of South Korea."

A young woman could barely contain her frustration, saying: "They don't do anything to correct the president's mistake. I'm so angry. We have to protest."

They plan to protest. The opposition party are pushing for a second vote - maybe as early as next week.

One little girl in the crowd of thousands told me: "He needs to go back to his real place."

Quite what that place is looks unclear right now. Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the president's People Power Party (PPP), insists he will push for his orderly resignation, but his boss has shown little sign of leaving so far.

President 'truly sorry'

On Saturday, President Yoon Suk Yeol did finally apologise, insisting his decision to declare martial law and send the army into parliament was "driven by desperation". He reversed the order just a few hours later.

After more than three days, he acknowledged it had "caused anxiety and inconvenience" and that he was "truly sorry" to those who had been "surprised".

But it was far from a meal culpa - considered far too little too late by many in the opposition.

Hard to see Yoon lasting long as president

It was perhaps though enough to placate his party for now - their abstention from voting perhaps to avoid exposing rifts in the ranks.

But it's hard to see him lasting long in the job. His audacious move this week has caused alarm and insecurity in his country.

And it unsettled allies too - denting faith in South Korea's status quo.

As images of democracy go, the images of empty seats inside the national assembly at such a pivotal moment in the country's history were pretty damning.

Cynicism in political process

The fact that so many members of the PPP choose to sit out such an important decision has exposed a cynicism in the country's political process - a trend that seems to be echoed in many parties of the world right now.

As the result played out in the chamber, the corridors of the national assembly were full of opposition members denying those who had left prematurely.

But they are also hopeful the man who sent troops into the building on Tuesday night will be gone soon.