Backlash against President Yoon's address intensifies

[Anchor]

Voices demanding the impeachment of President Yoon have been heard across the country.

In Gwangju and Jeonnam, not only university students but also middle and high school students participated in the declaration of the current situation, and in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, strongholds of the People Power Party, there has been a continuous stream of defections among party members.

Son Min-joo reports.

[Report]

Hundreds of students gathered at the plaza of Chonnam National University to call for the immediate resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

They criticized the president's address as merely an excuse to avoid punishment for insurrection.

[Lee Hong-kyu/President of Chonnam National University Student Council: "(This address) is absolutely inappropriate for the damage and confusion caused to the people during the emergency martial law."]

Middle and high school students also joined the declaration of the current situation.

Over 7,000 students signed the declaration, stating that they cannot recognize someone who denies the will of the people as a leader.

[Kang Gi-beop/Gwangju Munhwa Middle School: "At the very least, show responsibility for your actions as an adult, even if it's just at the end."]

Gwangju Metropolitan City has begun to remove frames containing the national philosophy of the Yoon Suk Yeol government.

Mayor Kang Gi-jung instructed that the national policy indicators be taken down not only from the mayor's office but also from affiliated organizations immediately after the president's address.

["Let us punish the insurrectionist and the insurrection party with the power of the citizens. (Let’s punish! Let’s punish! Let’s punish!)"]

The public sentiment in Daegu and Gyeongbuk is also serious.

The streets in front of the Daegu City Party and Gyeongbuk Provincial Party of the People Power Party were covered with condolence wreaths, and defection forms piled up in their offices.

After the emergency martial law, over 400 people in Daegu and about 240 in Gyeongbuk have defected from the party.

[Member of the People Power Party in Daegu/Voice Altered: "As a party member, the strongest possible weapon could be to defect from the party."]

From the birthplace of democracy to the heart of conservatism, the anger of the people is spreading.

This is KBS News, Son Min-joo.