414 Korean writers including Han Kang call for Yoon's impeachment

Members of the Writers Association of Korea hold an emergency declaration representing 2,487 writers at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Newsis

A group consisting of 414 Korean writers, including Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang, issued a statement on Tuesday urging the Constitutional Court to uphold the impeachment against President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The statement, titled “A One-line Statement by Writers Calling for Yoon Suk Yeol’s Removal,” includes contributions from notable figures such as novelists Eun Hee-kyung, Kim Yeon-su, Kim Ae-ran and Chung Bora; poets Kim Hye-soon, Kim Sa-in, Oh Eun and Hwang In-chan; and literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol.

They criticized the delay in the Constitutional Court's ruling, saying, “The verdict on Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over the illegal Dec. 3 martial law declaration, is being unjustifiably postponed.”

Han Kang wrote, “I believe in the inviolable values of life, freedom and peace. Removal (of Yoon) is an act of defending these universal values.”

Eun Hee-kyung said, “I want to live in a democratic society,” while Jeong Bo-ra declared, “Punish the traitor and build an equal society.”

Kim Yeon-su expressed hope, writing, “May this time next week be a night full of justice and peace.”

Poet Kim Sa-in called on the court to defend “the bare minimum of common sense that the Korean community has achieved through hardship,” and Shin Hyeong-cheol quoted Sophocles’ Antigone: “Rage where you will, but no man shall ever rule me with his words.”

The writers are part of the Writers Association of Korea, which also held an emergency declaration Tuesday in front of the Gwanghwamun protest camp, representing 2,487 writers nationwide.

“The martial law declaration by Yoon shattered our belief that democracy in Korea operates within a stable institutional framework,” the association said in a statement. “Now, speed is justice. The Constitutional Court must provide a decisive ruling that allows the people to return to their daily lives.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.