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Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, enters the party’s supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 24. / Source: Yonhap News

On November 24, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae said that, approaching the first anniversary of the December 3 emergency martial law declaration, many South Koreans still feel the event is “an ongoing reality,” arguing that the rebellion “has not yet ended.”

Speaking at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Jung said, “Next week marks the first anniversary of the illegal martial law, but the public still feels it is ongoing. The trial of former president Yoon Suk-yeol has stalled due to the Ji Guy-yeon bench, and the People Power Party, which abetted the illegal martial law, shows no remorse. The rebellion is not over.”

He accused members of the previous administration and its supporters of hypocrisy, saying, “They talk about restoring the rule of law and helping people’s livelihoods, and it is absurd. As people watch the martial law trial broadcast, many cannot believe that such a person (Yoon Suk-yeol) was ever president.”

Jung went on to criticize those who still support Yoon, saying, “Anyone still chanting ‘Yoon Again’ is lacking in judgment—petty, cowardly, anti-democratic and a malignant presence.”

“The People Power Party has no right to talk about people’s livelihoods or the rule of law,” Jung said. “Before trying to attack others, they must first apologize for the illegal martial law. Those who abetted it must reflect and face the consequences.”

Jung called this “a duty to the people and a responsibility of any political party,” adding that “further acts of deceiving the public will not be tolerated.”

He concluded by pledging to begin constitutional procedures to dissolve what he called an “unconstitutional political party,” saying, “We will settle the matter of the rebellion and restore the fair democratic order.”