09/07/2025
On the night of December 3, 2024, President Yoon Suk-yeol abruptly declared martial law. Citizens blocked the military, which had attempted to blockade the National Assembly, so that the Assembly could successfully lift the martial law. Civil society responded by organizing the “BISANG Action for Yoon Out & Social Reform,” mobilizing large-scale protests and various actions until Yoon was removed from office in April. Marginalized groups—including women, + people, adolescents, people with disabilities, and migrants—gathered in the square not only to demand Yoon’s resignation but also to call for a fundamental transformation of the system that enabled his rise to power. ***r rights organizations launched the “Q***r Action for Yoon’s Resignation” and established a “Rainbow Zone” at the protest site. They pointed out how the regime that caused and justified the rebellion had long relied on suppressing q***r individuals. They highlighted the urgent need for politics free of hate and exclusion. The rally organizers, a coalition of civil society groups, introduced a “Pledge for Equality at the Square,” and participants actively worked to uphold it. This marked a distinct difference from the 2016 and 2017 impeachment protests against former President Park Geun-hye, where misogyny and youth hate had become significant issues.
On June 3, held its first presidential since the end of martial law. Citizens in the square demanded systemic change, equality, and life—with q***r people at the center. This article traces their fight to bring those voices into the election.
Read the full article on the LGBT News Korea website: https://www.lgbtnewskorea.com/en/post/21stelection-2
