Seoul: Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have been holding a string of protest rallies in front of an alleged residence of the Constitutional Court’s Acting Chief Justice, Moon Hyung-bae, for days, in an apparent attempt to influence the court’s ongoing trials on Yoon’s impeachment.
Tuesday morning, about 30 supporters of the impeached President gathered outside an apartment complex in the central Seoul district of Jongno, shouting out slogans denouncing Moon and calling for his resignation and the nullification of Yoon’s impeachment.
Some of the protesters waved a picket sign that reads, “Porn judge Moon Hyung-bae,” amid allegations that he turned a blind eye to the sharing of pornography in an Internet cafe for his high school alumni. Police are reportedly investigating the allegations.
Yoon’s supporters, as well as conservative lawmakers, have accused Moon of being close to Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and affiliated with a Left-leaning association of judges, and moving to make a judgment unfavourable to the impeached President, Yonhap news agency reported.
Many residents of the apartment complex complained about the noise from the protesters and an official of the apartment management office came out holding a picket sign that read, “Moon Hyung-bae is not registered as a resident. No one has seen Moon here.”
The official also stressed that apartment residents also have the right to live a peaceful life and gatherings around the apartment complex should be avoided.
Earlier Monday, the South Korean presidential office said that it had requested police to investigate YouTubers who uploaded and aired a deepfake video of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
The office stated that it had filed a complaint against two YouTube channel operators behind the video for allegedly violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly had voted to impeach Yoon after his shocking, though brief, imposition of martial law December 3. He had been indicted on charges of leading an insurrection and had been arrested.
Yoon was also alleged to have sent military troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration and to have planned to arrest key political figures.
IANS
