This year's March 1st Independence Day, South Korea's independence movement anniversary, was marked by a different ceremony and the scenery in Seoul.

On the 1st, a ceremony commemorating the 1919 March 1st Independence Movement, which was a protest against Japanese colonial rule, was held in Seoul, South Korea. This year's ceremony was held under the title "Extraordinary Independence Movement" by President Yun Seok-yeol.
The ceremony was held amid continuing political turmoil in the country following the declaration of "martial law," and the speech at the ceremony was given by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is acting for Yoon.
Regarding the speech, he explained, "Following precedent, while he mentioned diplomatic policies toward North Korea and Japan, he placed emphasis on delivering a unified message calling for the resolution of the deepening national conflict following the impeachment of President Yoon."
In South Korea, March 1st is March 1st, which was established as a national holiday in 1949. On this day in 1919, 33 independence activists representing the nation made a public speech to the world announcing the independence of the Korean people.
This prompted demonstrations calling for independence to spread across Korea. Japan used force to suppress the demonstrations, and it is said that more than 7,500 people were killed in the independence movement.
The March 1st Independence Day is a day to celebrate the independence movement that was carried out by citizens in resistance to Japanese colonial rule. On this day, the Korean national flag, the Taegeukgi, is hoisted all over the city, and the Korean independence movement is celebrated by people of all ages.
There are commemorative events to commemorate those who died in the Independence Movement and to celebrate independence. This year, a commemorative ceremony was held in Seoul. The March 1st Independence Day ceremony used to be held by the president.
In his speeches, he has criticized Japan, but since Yoon, who has pursued a friendly policy toward Japan, took office as president in 2022, the critical content of his speeches has disappeared.
Although the positive message was sent, Yoon was not present at the ceremony this year. Yoon declared "emergency martial law" in December last year. Emergency martial law is a type of martial law defined by the Korean Constitution.
A state of emergency is issued by the president in the event of military necessity or to maintain public order. The military takes control of administrative and judicial functions and is authorized to restrict freedom of speech, press, and association.
This was the first time that martial law had been declared since democratization in 1987. Following the declaration, armed martial law soldiers broke the windows and stormed into the National Assembly building. The situation was reminiscent of the military regime.
Many citizens gathered in front of the National Diet, chanting slogans against martial law and surrounding military vehicles, causing chaos.
However, martial law can be lifted by the president if a majority of members of Congress request it.
Having to comply with this, a plenary session of the National Assembly was held immediately after the declaration, and all members present voted in favor of lifting it. Yoon lifted the state of emergency after just six hours.
Although the "emergency martial law" suddenly declared by Yoon was lifted early, it caused chaos in Korean society and continues to cause instability today.
The political situation remains tense. The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, have pointed out that Yoon has violated the constitution by "attempting to suspend the constitutional order and committing an internal rebellion to seize permanent power," and have called for his impeachment.
The bill to prosecute the suspects was submitted to the National Assembly. A vote was held in December last year, and the bill was passed with 204 votes in favor and 85 against. As a result, Yoon was suspended from his duties, and Choi, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, is currently in charge of the prosecution.
On the 1st, Choi also spoke on behalf of Yoon at the March 1st Independence Day ceremony. In his speech, Choi said of Japan-Korea relations, "We need to effectively manage the current severe international situation.
"In order to deal with this, cooperation between Korea and Japan is absolutely necessary," he said. He also said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and Japan, and that "it is important to heal the wounds of the past and open a new chapter in Korea-Japan relations."
As in Yoon's previous speeches, there was no criticism of Japan. Choi also stated that he hopes that the situation will improve in the future, given that domestic conflicts have become even more serious since Yoon declared "emergency martial law."
"In order to overcome the crisis and build a homeland that future generations can be proud of, the most important thing is national unity," he said. "Let's create a future-oriented, liberal, democratic community that respects diversity and trusts each other."
"The March 1st Independence Day is usually a day when anti-Japanese sentiment runs high, and the streets are filled with anti-Japanese demonstrations, but this year a rally was held to protest whether Yoon should be impeached.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 1,000 people were killed in the rallies held by supporters of Yoon, according to unofficial police estimates, at two locations in Seoul.
A total of 20,000 people gathered. Meanwhile, a rally calling for Yoon's removal from office, organized by five opposition parties, was attended by 18,000 people, according to an unofficial police estimate. Separately, a rally was held by a civic group.
An unofficial police estimate put the crowd at 15,000.