Since the evening of January 3 KST, after the initial failed attempt by South Korea's Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police to execute the arrest warrant of president Yoon Suk Yeol, representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have rallied near the vicinity of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul to demand president Yoon's immediate detainment. Civilians also joined in, combating freezing temperatures and raising their spirits with bright light sticks. Other civilians sent aid in the form of heated buses or by opening the doors of nearby facilities. 

Around noon the next day on January 4 KST, the KCTU initiated a protest march, heading closer to the direction of the presidential residence. However, soon after the march began, the protestors were stopped in their tracks by police, blocking their path on a road near Hannam Elementary School, in front of Volvo headquarters. 

While representatives of the KCTU argued, "We already received permission to lead this march. Do not get in our way. Get out of the way, police!", the police broadcast the following warning: "By occupying this road, you are causing a severe nuisance to residents of this area. You are committing obstruction of justice."

After a tense standoff, it's been confirmed that the police forcibly arrested 2 representatives of the KCTU. According to a statement by the KCTU on the incident, "Two union members were violently detained by the police during a protest march which was already registered and approved. The union members were pushed down by police onto the ground with their arms twisted around their backs and were dragged into the police cars."

A civilian who also joined in on the march commented in anger, "The police did nothing when it was their job to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, but now they are arresting civilians who have the right to assemble. Why are all of the policemen here not heading to the presidential residence, arresting the criminal?"

Soon, news of the arrest of the protesting union members spread online at a rapid pace. The KCTU urged other civilians to join them and express their solidarity. By around 2 PM KST, the protest crowd had grown exponentially, with participants voicing their intentions to "immobilize the police using numbers".

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