A symbolic representation of citizens at a protest, holding a "notice of dismissal" and declaring themselves the true owners of power. Hanmi Ilbo Graphics

The people are no longer your shield. Stand trial.

We lent you power, and you used it as a shield.

We entrusted you with freedom, and you returned it as shackles.

We asked for hope, and you gifted us anxiety.

We were promised a future, yet you summoned the ghosts of the past.

Therefore, today, I am firing you.

This statement is not mere literary rhetoric. It is a political notice issued by the sovereign people to their president, the language of a termination notice that ends a contract. A president bears a heavier responsibility than any corporate CEO. Yet, President Lee Jae-myung has used the power entrusted to him by the people as a personal shield, dismantling the trust that serves as the foundation of democracy. "Dismissal" is not an act of rage, but a product of rational decision-making.

The crime of privatizing power

While claiming that power belongs to the people, President Lee Jae-myung has, in reality, treated it as a means of self-preservation. From the dismantling of the prosecution and the concentration of police authority to the push for a special judicial tribunal, the pillars of law and institutions have degenerated into mechanisms to protect the regime and its cronies rather than the public. The master of power is no longer the people, but the "pro-Lee" faction, and fair trials have been reduced to systems akin to kangaroo courts. This is a fundamental violation of the democratic contract.

The crime of suppressing freedom

The institutional reforms conducted under the guise of "prosecution reform" are, in truth, nothing more than an imitation of Chinese-style public security rule. Under the pretext of separating investigation from prosecution, we see the repeated patterns of strengthening police power, suppressing the media, and shrinking freedom of expression. Labeling anti-China protests as "chaos" and threatening to apply judicial standards from the executive branch is an attitude that cannot be tolerated from the president of a liberal democracy. The people are no longer the employees of the government. It is time for the people to hand out the notice of dismissal.

The crime of abandoning the economy

Behind the privatization of politics and the suppression of freedom lies incompetent economic management. In trade negotiations between Korea and the U.S., Korea received much more unfavorable terms compared to Japan or Europe, yet the President avoided accountability with ambiguous rhetoric, claiming, "I did not sign anything that runs counter to national interest." However, what the people actually feel are high prices, job instability, and the outflow of foreign investment. National interest is measured in numbers, not words. The people have the right to fire an administration that cannot protect their livelihood.

The crime of breaking the contract

A president is a contract worker employed by the people. There is a timeline called a term in office and a contract called the Constitution. However, President Lee Jae-myung has turned the "language of reform" that the people expected into a "sword for eliminating political rivals." Institutional balance of power has collapsed, and the National Assembly has turned into a battlefield of confrontation rather than compromise. The people have no reason to tolerate this breach of contract any longer. The contract has been voided, and only dismissal remains.

Dismissal is not anger, but a choice of freedom

The word "dismissal" may be destructive, but it is also the language of freedom. The people are no longer a shield, and they refuse to be shackled. Dismissal is not a language of revenge, but a language of parting for a new beginning. If the people are the sovereigns, they have the right to cast out a regime just as much as they have the right to install one.

President Lee Jae-myung, these words addressed to you are, therefore, a declaration.

"I am firing you." This is the ultimate luxury and the final right of the people.

And the people issue one final demand:

Stand trial. Otherwise, you are fired.

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