The People Power Party (PPP) staged a protest march to the presidential office on Tuesday to denounce three judiciary-related bills rammed through by the ruling party. However, the event was largely overshadowed by hardcore supporters calling for former President Yoon Suk-yeol's political rehabilitation.
The march was organized hastily, and the party failed to file the required assembly notification. This left official participants unable to carry placards or chant slogans. Hardcore supporters filled the void, shouting "Dissolve the National Assembly" and "Only Yoon" while holding signs, effectively diluting the protest's original message.
The PPP held a send-off ceremony at the National Assembly with lawmakers, district party chairs, and key party officials before beginning the march to the presidential office at 2 p.m.
President Lee was abroad for a summit with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Party leadership pressed ahead, believing the march itself would highlight the dangers of the three judiciary bills. The presidential office was chosen as the destination to strongly urge President Lee to exercise his veto power.
"The Lee Jae-myung administration calls itself a government of popular sovereignty, but the people are nowhere in its considerations," PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk said. "These three judiciary-destroying bills mean no future for Korea—they aim to create a dictatorial republic."
"History has shown repeatedly that dictatorship brings national ruin," Jang continued. "Neither Hitler nor Nicolás Maduro seized power with guns. They deceived the people through demagoguery and sophistry, then maintained dictatorship through populist division and elections."
Jang urged President Lee to "abandon dreams of prolonged dictatorship and exercise veto power over these judiciary-destroying bills to protect the constitutional order."
Party participants chanted slogans vigorously during the send-off ceremony but fell silent once the march began. The rushed decision left no time to file assembly notifications, and chanting or carrying placards without proper registration could result in penalties for unauthorized assembly.
"Current law requires outdoor assemblies and demonstrations to be registered between 720 and 48 hours before the event. The march was decided too hastily to complete the procedure," a PPP official explained.
As official participants remained silent, hardcore supporters' voices filled the vacuum. Some carried signs reading "Strengthen ROK-US Alliance," "Only Yoon," and "Yoon Again" while chanting "President Yoon Suk-yeol" and "Dissolve the National Assembly."
Some supporters hurled insults at Supreme Council members Woo Jae-joon and Shin Dong-wook during the march, shouting "Go home" and "What are you looking at?" The criticism appeared directed at Woo's recent accompaniment of former PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon to Daegu and Shin's remarks suggesting the need to distance from Yoon.
Frustration emerged among participating lawmakers as well. "I don't know if I'm following American flags or 'Yoon Again' banners," one lawmaker said. "I have no idea what we're doing here." Another expressed disappointment: "This is worse than not doing it at all. It's total chaos."