Thousands of South Koreans took the streets of central Seoul on Saturday to call on President Yoon Suk-yeol to step down, accusing the former top prosecutor of elevating close confidantes to create a “prosecutors republic” in the largest protests against his leadership to date.

Opposition lawmakers joined the large-scale demonstration in Gwanghwamun Square, which consciously utilized candles, signs and Guy Fawkes masks reminiscent of the unprecedented weekly protests that toppled the administration of former conservative President Park Geun-hye in 2016 and 2017.

The organizer Candlelit Action, an association of progressive groups that got its start during the anti-Park protests, has