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Student councils plan joint rallies to call for President Yoon's impeachment

Published: 11 Dec. 2024, 18:07

LEE TAE-HEE
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Students hold signs that call for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol and that university students will protect democracy during a protest held in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Dec. 7. Student councils and representatives are joining each other to hold larger scale events following President Yoon declaring martial law. [NEWS1]

The student protests calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down are continuing, with student councils and representatives joining forces to hold joint declarations and protests.

Student councils from 20 universities, such as Korea University, Yonsei University and Ewha Womans University, will take to the streets in Sinchon, western Seoul, on Friday to urge the president to resign. The event is organized by the Student Council Forum, an organization of Korean university student councils.

The student council representatives will take turns reading statements, with individual students also joining to hold signs demanding the president be impeached and chanting slogans.

University student councils have individually issued statements requesting President Yoon to step down, but many are also coming together to organize larger-scale events as the martial law fallout deepens.

Student representatives from 31 universities, such as Kyung Hee University, Pusan National University and Hanyang University, will also gather at Yeouido Park in western Seoul on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to protest and call for President Yoon's impeachment.

Saturday is also the day the vote on President Yoon's second impeachment motion will be held.

Although the students are not from university student councils, they have formed a committee to jointly address the issue and host more student-led events.

“Witnessing the motion to impeach the president be scrapped on Dec. 7, we decided to form a group among students that participated in protests and issued statements calling for the president to step down at different universities," the committee said in a statement.

The group held a press conference on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly, formally announcing the launch of the committee.

Even after Saturday's protest, the student group plans to take turns posting handwritten posters around campuses and hosting debates on topics related to martial law.

Although students are forming larger groups to make their voices louder, this does not mean individual student councils are keeping silent.

Around 60 Chuncheon National University of Education students gathered on campus in Chuncheon, Gangwon, on Wednesday, calling for the president's impeachment.

"As future teachers, we will not be silent, as we will teach our students that the Republic of Korea is a democratic country," said the student council. "The president, who should safeguard the freedom and rights of the people, has used martial law to assert his power and instill anxiety among people."

At Pusan National University on Tuesday, around 1,050 students gathered to condemn the president and call for his resignation. Another 300 gathered at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, also on Tuesday, to read statements criticizing the president and the People Power Party, translating the statement into 19 languages as the university specializes in foreign language studies.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]