South Koreans hold another mass rally to demand Park’s resignation
Protesters stage a rally calling for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. Pic: AP
TENS of thousands of South Koreans held a mass rally in Seoul on Saturday to demand the ouster of President Park Geun-hye in what would be one of the biggest protests in the country since its democratization about 30 years ago.
Police anticipate about 170,000 people to turn out Saturday near City Hall and an old palace gate, while the protest organizers estimate as much as a million participants.
It will be the latest of a wave of massive rallies against Park, whose presidency over the last few weeks has been shaken by suspicion that she let a shadowy longtime confidante to manipulate power from behind the scenes.
Despite rising anger, opposition parties have yet to seriously push for Park’s resignation or impeachment over fears of negatively impacting next year’s presidential race.
According to state news agency Yonhap, the rally on Saturday was organised by more than 1,500 civil society groups and the predicted large turnout had prompted police to deploy some 25,000 officers over concerns that the protest would turn violent.
The protest on Saturday is anticipated to surpass the record 80,000 protesters in June 2008 during a rally against the government’s decision to resume US beef imports, Yonhap reported.
The protesters in the latest rally also planned to march toward the presidential office later in the evening.
Citing traffic inconveniences, police had earlier announced a ban on protesters gathering near
Gyeongbokgung Station but a court order early Saturday had overruled the ban, providing freedom of assembly.
“Considering the specific purpose of this rally, which is to convey the public voice to the president, the meaning Sajik street and Yulgok street hold is significantly different from what they meant for other rallies,” the Seoul Administrative Court was quoted as saying.
“The rally and march are not led by a specific interest group, but by the general public, ranging from adolescents and adults to the elderly who volunteered to take part,” it added.
The court said the possible traffic inconveniences “seems to be within the boundary the public can accept,” adding the the public had been informed of the planned protest.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
