January 16, 2025
SEOUL – Political division in South Korea is nothing new, but the constant clashes between the extreme factions on both right and left, in parliament and even on the streets, has become overwhelming for many ordinary Koreans.
“It’s happening everywhere,” says Lee Soo-hyun, pointing out how people are shouting in defense or condemnation of President Yoon Suk Yeol day and night on the streets.
Lee, a cram school teacher in Gangnam-gu, who considers herself a centrist, feels particularly overwhelmed by the media, the internet and algorithm-driven social media platforms. The continuous stream of posts showing people fervently expressing their version of the truth is “just tiring,” she says.
“The social media posts and online comments seem to offer a sense of unity for some people. The slightest difference or even small signs of opposition seem unacceptable to each side. This could lead to fiercer clashes between the two,” she said.
“To be honest, I’m getting a little tired of hearing about their increasingly unreasonable behavior,” she added, showing video clips of protesters lying on the road near the presidential residence or assaulting police at rally sites.
Cho Young-eun, a centrist and 46-year-old mother of an elementary school student, is puzzled when her daughter asks questions about the rallies and mocks the political leaders involved in the current fiasco.
“She seems to view this whole situation as a comedy, not reality. I feel confused seeing these people act irrationally and wonder how my child will perceive this,” she said.
“This extreme confrontation and people losing their minds have shown our children just how far humans can go. This is too dark, too raw. I don’t know what to tell her.”
Though the heated protests near the presidential residence have made headlines since the beginning of the month, a food retail company marketer surnamed Yim shared that she doesn’t talk a lot about the ongoing political situation at work.
Yim feels that her colleagues are also a little cautious about revealing their political leanings because small misinterpretations can easily label them.
“Not empathizing with the anti-Yoon protesters does not make me a Yoon supporter. But, this can mislead others and make them think I am siding with the conservatives. This is the impression I get nowadays,” she said.
Another centrist, an Ilsan-based stock trader surnamed Moon, said he was irritated by people who take advantage of the political divide.
“People who call themselves content creators make malicious, provocative videos of the rallies to increase their viewership. I heard that some people are even selling Taegeukgi (the national flag of Korea) at the rally site,” he said.
“Each time I encounter these people, I feel frustrated by their lack of tolerance and inability to accept differences,” Moon said.
How extreme are the two sides?
After investigators failed to detain President Yoon earlier this month, both anti- and pro-Yoon protests grew more intense, holding rallies past midnight when temperatures dropped below zero.
Demonstrators who draped themselves in mylar foil emergency blankets on snowy nights earlier this month became known as the “Kisses Squad,” referring to their resemblance to Hershey’s Kisses chocolates.
With some 4,000 police officers dispatched to the rally sites to prevent clashes between rival groups, there had been no major injuries as of Tuesday.
The National Police Agency reported on Jan. 6, however, that protesters assaulted police officers on four different occasions during the rallies held on Jan. 4 and 5.
The police in Yongsan-gu also detained a man in his 50s on Jan. 12 after he allegedly brandished a knife at a protester due to political differences.
Opposing rallies held Monday by the New Freedom Union — a conservative, Yoon-supporting organization — and groups of anti-Yoon demonstrators, including the members of Candle Act, each drew almost 10,000 attendees.
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer identifying himself as a Yoon aide, meanwhile, justified the growing intensity of rallies by the president’s supporters, saying they are fighting against anti-democratic forces.
“The president and his legal team perceive the recent rallies as an ideological conflict. It is a ‘war’ between those who believe in liberal democracy and those who oppose this belief,” the lawyer told reporters.
The growing political divide has become increasingly visible within the National Assembly.
For days, lawmakers from the People Power Party loyal to President Yoon have dominated headlines as they attempted to block police and investigators from executing the warrant for Yoon’s arrest. Among them, five-term lawmaker Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, a seasoned political figure, even joined a rally organized by far-right supporters — led by controversial church leader Chun Kwang-hoon — saying that he is willing to sacrifice his political career if Yoon is detained.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea recently pushed through a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the insurrection charges against Yoon. They also passed multiple impeachment motions targeting Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, holding him accountable for vetoing the party-backed bill on the nomination of Constitutional Court justices. Critics argue that these unilateral moves have deepened the leadership vacuum.
Following Han’s impeachment, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok now juggles three roles — acting president, acting prime minister, and finance minister — amid mounting political turmoil.
How to embrace centrists
Some political observers believe that the recent political turmoil has created an opportunity for greater political participation by South Korean centrists. According to Professor Cho Jin-man of Duksung Women’s University, lawmakers who indulge the extreme actions of both sides are missing a chance to attract those in the middle.
“The ruling People’s Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea are only lambasting each other. This might unite the extremists, but it will confuse and exhaust the centrists, who are the majority,” Cho told The Korea Herald.
The professor explained that the angry rhetoric from lawmakers could deepen the political division and leave people feeling exhausted by the rival parties’ constant attacks on each other.
“We need an election environment where people can vote for the best candidate instead of choosing the lesser evil,” he said.
Cho noted that efforts to embrace centrists would not only increase their interest in politics, but also help soothe the existing bipartisan conflict.