A protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment is held near the presidential residence in Seoul, Jan. 6. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Park, a 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, plans to take a Korean national flag along with her light stick to the rally that supports the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol this Saturday.

"The national flag suits us better than the anti-impeachment rallies that aimed to justify President Yoon Suk Yeol's emergency martial law declaration," she said. "March 1 Independence Day is also a good opportunity to reframe the image of the national flag."

An anonymous user of X, formerly Twitter, who identifies as a member affiliated with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), also agreed with this idea.

She uploaded a photo of the Korean national flag on Sunday and wrote, "What a perfect occasion to take the Taegeukgi (national flag) back. Let's raise the national flag on March 1, please." The post was shared more than 8,000 times and liked 10,900 times as of Friday.

While the political heat has reached its peak on both sides of the rallies for and against the impeachment of Yoon for his short-lived martial law on Dec. 3, several pro-impeachment supporters are planning to wave the flag on Saturday, aiming to bring the Taegeukgi back from conservative supporters of the president.

For the past few years, the national flag has become a prominent fixture of hardline conservative rallies in Korea. It started in 2016 during the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye.

A protest against former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment is held near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, March 9, 2017. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Those opposing her impeachment chose to wave the Korean national flag, in contrast to the liberal candlelit vigil movement, saying "candle lights can be blown out, but the Taegeukgi stands for good." Even after Park's impeachment, conservatives have carried the national flag at rallies to express their opposition to the liberal bloc.

Also known as "Taegeukgi Budae," literally meaning "National Flag Brigade," this far-right group of middle-aged to senior conservatives — many of whom are fundamentalist Christians — strongly supports Yoon, much like the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement backing Donald Trump in the U.S. They regularly hold rallies, waving Korean national flags, as well as American and sometimes even Israeli flags.

Next to light sticks, the Taegeukgi has become rally-goers' second-favorite item at weekly pro-impeachment demonstrations, while some of the participants often bought 100 flags to share them with others joining the event.

While the protests for and against Yoon's impeachment are expected to reach their peak on March 1, the national holiday commemorating the 1919 independence movement from Japan's colonial rule, political circles have also continued efforts to "bring back the national flag."

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, wears a Taegeukgi pin during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 9, 2024. Newsis

DPK lawmakers have been wearing Taegeukgi pins instead of the lawmaker's gold pins since last December during meetings and official events.

"Based on common sense, people who felt out of line in the impeachment of President Yoon are moving to reclaim the national flag, which symbolizes Korea's national identity," Heo Chang-deok, a sociology professor at Yeungnam University, said. "People's perceptions of the national flag are changing."

"The perception that the [young voters in their] 20s and 30s should remedy the country shaken up by the political turmoil has led to discussions to bring back the national symbol of the Taegeukgi to the general public," Chang Kyung-sup, a professor of sociology at Seoul National University, said. "[Yoon's] rebellion has awakened democratic civic awareness."