Rep. Cho Kuk, front row center, leader of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP), holds a rally in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Saturday, with party members and supporters carrying signs that read "Now choose between the country and Kim Keon Hee." Courtesy of Rebuilding Korea Party

Opposition parties have begun holding outdoor rallies against President Yoon Suk Yeol amid a deepening crisis over scandals involving his embattled wife Kim Keon Hee, according to party officials, Sunday.

On Saturday, the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) staged a large-scale anti-government protest in front of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, calling for Yoon's impeachment.

Approximately 3,000 people joined the rally chanting "Disband the prosecutors' office and impeach Yoon Suk Yeol." Others carried signs reading "Now choose between the country and Kim Keon Hee." During the event, RKP leader Rep. Cho Kuk criticized the prosecution for not indicting the first lady for her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme.

"The prosecution decided not to charge Kim in connection to receiving a luxury handbag from a pastor and aiding and abetting the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation. Then the prosecution said the investigation was conducted according to legal principles based on evidence. That's hilarious," said Cho, a former justice minister under President Moon Jae-in.

"We cannot sit idly by and watch the Yoon Suk Yeol administration subvert the constitutional order. We will dismantle the prosecution, which has fallen into a law firm of the presidential couple, and pursue impeachment of Yoon."

On the same day, the minor progressive Jinbo Party also launched a petition calling for Yoon's impeachment. It aims to get over 1 million signatures demanding Yoon's impeachment by Dec. 7.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is set to stage a large-scale rally in central Seoul on Saturday to condemn the prosecution's decision to not indict the first lady over a stock manipulation scheme and urge the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to endorse a bill to investigate her.

"PPP leader Han Dong-hoon should stop the ‘political show' of proposing the appointment of a special inspector to alleviate public concerns over controversies surrounding the first lady and endorse the DPK's call for mandating a special counsel to investigate the allegations against Kim," Rep. Kim Min-seok, a Supreme Council member of the DPK, said during a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday.

Rep. Kim Min-seok, left, a Supreme Council member of the DPK, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday. Yonhap

On Oct. 17, the DPK introduced a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the first lady for the third time after two previous bills were scrapped in a revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed them.

The new bill includes recent allegations that Kim solicited help from Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political consultant, to manipulate public opinion polls and exercise undue influence over the ruling party's candidate nominations for the 2022 by-elections and April's general elections. The bill will likely be put up for a revote on Nov. 14 at the opposition-controlled Assembly.

The DPK's move is widely seen as a way to protect DPK leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung from his legal issues. Lee currently faces several charges, including allegations of violating the election law and transferring illicit funds to North Korea.

Last month, prosecutors sought a three-year prison sentence for Lee on charges of bribing a former mayoral secretary to provide false testimony in his favor in 2018. The court's verdict on Lee's election law violation charges is expected on Nov. 15. Separately, the court will deliver a verdict on Lee's perjury subornation on Nov. 25.

However, the DPK appears to be keeping its distance from the impeachment inquiry pursued by the minor opposition parties, as the action could backfire.