| 2019 South Korean National Assembly attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of 2018–2019 South Korean protests and Impeachment of Park Geun-hye | |
 National Assembly Proceeding Hall in 2006 | |
| Date | 16 December 2019 |
| Location | National Assembly Proceeding Hall, Seoul, South Korea |
The 2019 South Korean National Assembly attack occurred on 16 December 2019, when supporters of the Liberty Korea Party, Our Republican Party, and Taegeukgi units attempted to enter the National Assembly Proceeding Hall.
Throughout 2019, conservative activists protested the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Moon Jae-in administration for multiple reasons. One was the aftermath of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye in 2017, which caused a split in the country's conservative politics between the mainstream Liberty Korea Party (LKP; formerly Saenuri Party, succeeded by the People Power Party) and the far-right Our Republican Party (2017), whose supporters, known as the "Taeguk troops" over their use of the Taegukgi, held demonstrations against her impeachment. Another was the appointment of Cho Kuk as Minister of Justice, which he resigned from in October over the Cho Min academic credentials scandal, but also because of opposition to his planned reforms that would reduce the powers of the prosecutor general, a longstanding idea in South Korean politics. [1] [2]
On 16 December 2019, the Liberty Korea Party, Korea's mainstream conservative party, held "The contest to condemn the revision of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Act and the Election Act" (Korean : 공수처법·선거법 날치기 저지 규탄대회), which included provisions shifting powers from prosecutors to the police and was being voted on that day. [1] The rally started around 11:00 that day, with members of the LKP as well as "Taegeuk squad"s in attendance. It was estimated by the police to have 6,000 participants, though LKP claimed it had 10,000 participants. LKP lawmakers criticised entry restrictions on the National Assembly building, and the main gate was opened after LKP Secretary General Rep. Park Wan-su formally complained to National Assembly Secretary General Yoo In-tae. [2]
This prompted the protestors to storm the Assembly grounds. LKP leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was present at the rally, reportedly encouraged the demonstrators, saying "Your rage will impact the National Assembly ... You've already won a victory". [2] As most of the demonstrators were in their 60s and 70s, the police initially acted with restraint to avoid injuries. However, some protestors became violent, spitting on Justice Party members, grabbing their hair and shaking them. [1] [3] [4] [5] Sul Hoon, a member of the DPK, said he was attacked. [6] Others tried to rush the doors against the directives of LKP, partially breaking them and tussling with police. [2]
Despite calls by the LKP and the police, protestors refused to leave and remained on the grounds well into the evening, wit arrests starting at 19:30. [6] [6] [2] Speaker Moon Hee-sang scrapped the vote and denounced the rally, stating "Today, supporters of a certain group almost violated the National Assembly, something that must never happen. ... I am ashamed about the extreme political confrontation, where politicians only treat other parties as enemies and oppose everything, instead of having talks and trying to find a compromise" [1]
Two years later, South Korean media compared the incident to the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In the American attack, however, lawmakers were not victims of direct physical violence. [7] [8] [9]
The national flag of the Republic of Korea, also known as the Taegeukgi, has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue taegeuk in its center, accompanied by four black trigrams, one in each corner. The predecessors to the current Taegeukgi were used as the national flag of Korea by the Joseon dynasty, the Korean Empire, as well as the Korean government-in-exile during Japanese rule. South Korea adopted Taegeukgi for its national flag in 1948.
The Liberty Korea Party (Korean: 자유한국당) was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party, and before that as the Hannara Party from 1997 to 2012, both of which are still colloquially used to refer to the party. The party formerly held a plurality of seats in the 20th Assembly before its ruling status was transferred to the Democratic Party of Korea on 27 December 2016, following the creation of the splinter Bareun Party by former Saenuri members who distanced themselves from President Park Geun-hye in the 2016 South Korean political scandal.
The Yeollin Uri Party, generally abbreviated to Uri Party, was the ruling social-liberal political party in South Korea from 2003 to 2007. A liberal party, it was created to support then-President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last leader of the party and twice served as its chairman. In 2007 the party merged the United New Democratic Party to form the Democratic Party. The current-day descendant of the party is the Democratic Party of Korea, but progressives in the party have become members of the Justice Party.
Park Geun-hye is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017. Park was the first woman to be elected president of South Korea, and also the first woman to be popularly elected as a head of state in East Asia. She is also the first South Korean president to be born after the founding of South Korea. Her father, Park Chung Hee, was president from 1963 to 1979, serving five consecutive terms after he seized power in 1961.
Early presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 May 2017 following the impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye. The elections were conducted in a single round, on a first-past-the-post basis, and had originally been scheduled for 20 December 2017. However, they were brought forward after the decision of the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017 to uphold the National Assembly's impeachment of Park. Following procedures set out in the Constitution of South Korea, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn succeeded Park as the acting president. After Park was removed from office by the Constitutional Court's ruling, acting president Hwang announced he would not run for a term in his own right.
The Democratic Party, formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, is a liberal political party in South Korea. The DPK and its rival, the People Power Party (PPP), form the two major political parties of South Korea.
The 2016–2017 South Korean protests were a series of protests against President Park Geun-hye that occurred throughout South Korea from November 2016 to March 2017. Protesters denounced the Park administration's 2016 political scandal and called for the resignation of Park Geun-hye.
The Bareun Party was a conservative political party in South Korea, announced on 27 December 2016 with the defection of 29 anti-Park Saenuri Party lawmakers. It was known as the Conservative New Party for Reform until 8 January 2017.
The Our Republican Party, formerly the Korean Patriots' Party (대한애국당), was a far-right political party in South Korea known primarily for its pro-Park Geun-hye stance. It was formed following a split within the New Saenuri Party. The party strongly supported former president Park Geun-hye.
The Progressive Party (Korean: 진보당), formerly known as the Minjung Party until June 2020, is a left-wing progressive and left-wing nationalist political party in South Korea.
The Taegeukgi rallies, also known as the Pro-Park rallies (Korean: 친박집회), are ongoing rallies that initially started as a series of counter-candlelight rallies supporting the former president of South Korea Park Geun-hye in 2016 but now continuing with the aim of releasing Park. The Taegeukgi protestors or the Taegeukgi crowds got their names because they vehemently swung or wore South Korean flags during rallies.
Hong Moon-jong is a South Korean politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Uijeongbu 2nd constituency. He also served as the Secretary-General of the Saenuri Party. He is the son of the late former politician Hong Woo-jun.
Ha Tae-keung is a South Korean activist and politician who is currently a member of National Assembly representing the 1st constituency of Haeundae District, Busan. He has served as Vice President of the Bareun Party, a Vice President of the Bareunmirae Party, and one of the co-Presidents of the New Conservative Party.
Jun Hee-kyung is a South Korean conservative politician who is a member of the National Assembly from right-wing Liberty Korea Party (LKP) since 2016. Before joining the politics, she was the secretary-general of Centre for Free Economics.
Han Sun-kyo is a South Korean former broadcaster and politician, who was the Member of National Assembly from 2004 to 2020. He was also the President of the Future Korea Party from February to March 2020. Prior to his political career, he worked as a newsreader of MBC from 1984 to 1995. He was also the Chairman of the Korean Basketball League from 2011 to 2014.
The People Power Party, formerly known as the United Future Party, is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It controls the South Korean presidency and is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two largest political parties in South Korea.
The Pro-Park New Party is a South Korean political party led by Hong Moon-jong.
Kim Hyong-o is a South Korean writer and politician. He was a long-term Member of the National Assembly for Yeongdo from 1992 to 2012. During the parliamentary career, he served as the Speaker of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2010.
Chung Jin-suk is a South Korean journalist, activist, and politician who briefly served as the interim President of the Saenuri Party from 11 May 2016 to 1 June 2016. He has been the Member of the National Assembly for Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang since 2016 and was previously MP for Gongju-Yeongi from 2000 to 2004, and again from 2005 to 2008. He was the Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs in the Lee Myung-bak government from 2010 to 2011.
On 19 January 2025, at 03:20 Korea Standard Time (KST), supporters of the impeached president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, broke and entered through a window into the Seoul Western District Court to protest the formal arrest warrant that extended the previous detainment warrant for up to 20 days pending the prosecutors' decision on indictment. By 6:08, the police announced they had restored order. The protesters injured several police officers and attacked journalists.
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