It was another call to action Friday to South Korea’s protest movement, which faced off against security forces just a month ago to resist the president’s declaration of a state of emergency by Yoon Suk Yeol.
Those first mass protests produced results: Mr. Yoon’s surprise declaration of martial law on December 3 was overturned, then the National Assembly impeached him and opened an investigation into whether he led the rebellion.
But in the weeks that followed, paralysis and polarization set in. And that’s what protesters found on the roads outside Mr. Yoon’s official residence.
The mass of Mr. Yoon’s supporters were already there. They rushed to his neighborhood after being jolted by news on Friday morning of a move to detain him in connection with his declaration of martial law last month. Other Yoon fans he had already been there for dayscamped on a sidewalk near his home in central Seoul, vowing to thwart any attempts to detain him.
Law enforcement officers retreated after spending hours trying to push their way past supporters of Mr. Yoon and encountered more members of his personal insurance team. Their order to detain him for official questioning remained unfulfilled.
Thousands of anti-Yoon protesters rushed to face thousands of pro-Yoon supporters. For his supporters, it was a moment of joy and defiance. For his detractors, bitter frustration.
“I’m so angry,” said Lee Ye-seul, 19, a student at Seoul National University, who marched toward Mr. Yoon with a crowd of protesters demanding his arrest.
The protesters occupied a section of the road near Mr. Yoon’s residence and planned to camp overnight. “Detain and arrest Yoon Suk Yeol immediately!” read the signs they were holding. “Let’s wipe out accomplices, sympathizers and the party of rebellion!”
Kim Yoon-hyeong, 20, called the presence of supporters of Mr. Yoona “trying hard right to protect their interests” and rejected their claims. He said Mr. Yoon could not stay in power.
“It makes no sense to leave a person who declared a state of emergency against the country in office,” he said.
Kang Hye-sun, 57, joined the pro-Yoon protest on Friday afternoon after seeing news of the plan to detain him earlier. She found out on YouTube that his supporters were near his residence.
“Yoon Suk Yeol is fighting alone,” she said tearfully. She added that she believes that there was electoral fraud in last year’s elections, when his ruling party lost the majority in the National Assembly.
She held a poster that read “Stop Stealing,” a slogan popularized by former President Donald J. Trump to challenge the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, which he lost.
What happened to Trump is happening to Yoon Suk Yeol, she said.
Nearby, leaders of the pro-Yoon protests aired similarly conspiratorial claims of massive voter fraud in the last election and called the impeachment of Mr. Yoon by the National Assembly as invalid.
One pro-Yoon protester waved a stick at demonstrators calling for Yoon’s arrest, shouting, “What country are you from?” Some anti-Yoon demonstrators called on police to arrest a pro-Yoon protester who they accused of spitting at the crowd from a pedestrian overpass overlooking the street.
But police officers in neon yellow jackets surrounded both groups of protesters. There was tension, raised tones, pushing here and there, but no open violence.
As darkness fell, protest leaders calling for the impeached president’s arrest called on protesters to sit down as they began camping on the road in front of Yoon’s residence.
Thousands of protesters continued to chant, “Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol!” while sitting on the cold asphalt. Temperatures in Seoul, which hovered just above freezing on Friday, are expected to drop to 17 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.
Ms Lee, who planned to stay out overnight, said she had put on a thick winter coat and carried an extra vest in her rucksack.
“I will speak until he is removed and the people who participated in the rebellion are punished,” she said.
