In the early hours, a tractor brought by the Korean Peasant League (JeonNong) for a rally demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol entered the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul but was forcibly towed away by the police. Physical clashes occurred between the rally participants and the police during this process, and demonstrators blocked the road, causing severe traffic congestion during rush hour.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a red tractor was found early in the morning at around 4:15 a.m. near a tent protest site in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The police deployed mobile units and a forklift to move the tractor towards Jahamun-ro. The police suspect the tractor, which had encountered a police blockade during a protest at Namtaeryeong the previous day, was loaded onto a truck and brought to Gwanghwamun through an alternative route overnight.
During the towing of the tractor, some of the protestors opposing the impeachment strongly protested, questioning the legal basis, leading to physical altercations with the police. One participant was arrested on the spot for assaulting a police officer.
The impeachment-supporting group, identified as the Emergency Action for the Immediate Resignation of Yoon Suk-yeol and Social Reform (Emergency Action), claimed the police’s towing of the tractor was “illegal seizure” and expressed opposition, stating that farmers and activists were assaulted by the police.
The groups supporting the impeachment gathered at Jahamun-ro, a towing route, to block the towing. As of 9 a.m., about 500 protesters occupied the road, either sitting on mats or wrapped in thermal blankets, chanting for the return of the tractor.
The occupation of the road led to the suspension of the streetcar line between Gyeongbokgung Station and Cheongun Elementary School on Seoul’s Subway Line 3, causing significant congestion for workers commuting to the city center. The tractor protest by JeonNong, which had been engaged in an overnight standoff with police at Namtaeryeong Pass in Seocho-gu, completely dispersed, and traffic in the Namtaeryeong and Gwacheon-dong areas normalized around 7:40 a.m.
A representative from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated that they plan to take strict legal action against the organizers for any illegal activities during the farmers’ protest.