On Feb. 4, led by its leader Lee Jae-myung, 100 lawmakers and approximately 25,000 supporters of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) held a massive anti-government rally in central Seoul. It was the first time the DP had organized such a rally in six years when it demanded then-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

Surrounded by throngs of supporters carrying blue balloons — the DP’s color — Lee Jae-myung criticized the Yoon administration’s attempt to “silence the opposition” by way of “prosecutorial tyranny,” all the while “neglecting the people’s basic needs.”

Lee used the event as a show of force to warn