By Jung Min-ho
Up to half a million people are expected to take to the streets in central Seoul, Saturday, in the largest-ever rally against President Park Geun-hye.
At Seoul Plaza from 4 p.m., citizens from all walks of life, including members of unions, student councils and religious groups, will call for President Park to step down, following the revelations that she was deeply involved in an influence-peddling scandal surrounding her confidant Choi Soon-sil.
There are many points of contention, such as who should be the country’s next leader and what issues should be resolved as priorities, but the rage has united the public against Park whom they no longer trust.
The gathering had been planned before the Choi scandal emerged, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a massive anti-government rally on Nov. 14 last year when farmer activist Baek Nam-ki was knocked over by water from a police water cannon. He died last month after ten months in a coma.
But with the public fury over the scandal, the size of the rally may turn out to be far bigger than expected. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s second-largest umbrella labor union and one of the rally organizers, said it expects the number to be 1 million at best.
Last Saturday, 200,000 people participated in an anti-Park rally at the same place, according to organizers.
“More people from across the country will fill the streets, and we expect many will participate in the rally and pay more attention to it,” the KCTU said in a statement.
Like last week’s rally, many citizens who do not belong to unions or specific groups are expected to come, with many planning to bring their children.
Lawmakers from all three opposition parties — the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the People’s Party and the Justice Party — will join them, saying President Park has shown her obsession with power over the past week and she won’t give it up until she is forced to.
Most party leaders and key members are expected to be there. “This is the first time for the three parties to be united outside the National Assembly,” said Youn Kwan-suk, chief spokesman of the DPK.
The government is obviously anxious about the rally. In a rare move, the Ministry of the Interior told government organizations to discourage public officials from participating. The ministry said public officials are obliged to be politically neutral according to the law.
Concerning possible violence between protestors and police, police decided to block off the organizers’ planned march near Cheong Wa Dae. Police have notified the KCTU that they should not march beyond where the statue of King Sejong stands.
“We made the decision to preserve order while protecting their right to assemble,” the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said in a statement.
It is unclear whether the KCTU will forgo their marching plan. If not, clashes may occur between the 20,000 police officers to be deployed and hundreds of thousands of protesters.
Protests against President Park have been peaceful over the past two weeks, but concerns have been raised that the upcoming one might turn violent, as her supporters also plan to stage a counter-rally nearby. Conservative groups, including Park Samo, her fan club with 70,000 members, have encouraged their members to participate.