As the Constitutional Court delays its ruling on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol, 414 writers across various literary fields—including poetry, fiction, criticism, children’s literature, playwriting, and comics—have issued a statement demanding Yoon’s immediate removal from office.
“The daily lives of citizens are collapsing, and democracy in South Korea is in crisis,” they declared. “The removal of the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol is inevitable. There must be no further delay, and no other decision but impeachment is acceptable or permissible.”
In addition to the joint statement, each writer also issued a personal statement. Poet Kim Hye-soon, who personally experienced the brutality of martial law in the late 1970s, wrote, “Please, let us no longer be ashamed before the world.”
Lee Suzy, the first Korean to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award (2022), stated, “We endure this ruthless era in silence from our respective places. Every day, we repeat to ourselves—what use are books, what use is art in such times? For the democracy we have upheld with all our hearts, for our common sense and daily lives, and for all of us, we urgently demand the immediate removal of the impeached Yoon Suk-yeol from office.”
On December 3, 2024, at 11:00 PM, President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a nationwide state of emergency in South Korea.
In an emergency briefing, President Yoon justified the declaration of martial law under the pretext of eradicating pro-North and anti-state forces to defend South Korea. He established a martial law command and deployed martial law forces nationwide.
Despite Yoon illegally announcing martial law himself on live television, the Constitutional Court has delayed its ruling for over 100 days since the unlawful declaration.
Judge Ji Gui-yeon ruled to cancel Yoon’s detention based on a controversial interpretation of the legal detention period, counting it by hours rather than days—an act that blatantly violates existing laws.
Furthermore, Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung, suspected of sympathizing with Yoon’s rebellion, led the prosecution to abandon an immediate appeal against Yoon’s release, ultimately allowing him to go free.
Currently, the South Korean people are witnessing the corrupt reality of prosecutors and judges firsthand.
