'Professional' demonstrators in disguise
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By Park Moo-jong
What a mess!
Illegal and violent demonstrations turned the heart of the metropolis of Seoul into total chaos, highlighted by a terrible traffic hell, last week on the occasion of the first anniversary of the ferry Sewol sinking.
Hundreds of thousands citizens could not but be trapped in the traffic congestion on a chilly spring night downtown due to fierce confrontations between police and some 10,000 demonstrators.
I and my family were also victims of the disorder as we had great difficulty finding ways out of the Gwanghwamun area at around 10:30 p.m. after enjoying the Broadway musical “Cats” at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on April 16, the first anniversary of the tragedy.
However, we were a little lucky because we left our car at home and could travel late that night thanks to the good subway network in the capital city.
As far as street demonstrations are concerned, the Republic of Korea is a sort of paradise.
A self-mocking “joke” about how wives of different countries react when they find that their husbands have cheated on them shows different national characteristics.
Here are some examples:
A U.S. wife goes to her lawyer.
A British wife pretends not to know.
A Chinese wife does what her husband did.
A Japanese wife appeals to the mistress not to meet her husband.
A Korean wife demonstrates in Gwanghwamun using the slogan: “President Park Geun-hye should take responsibility.”
This is really a joke that has been the talk of town of late, but gives us something to think about. What’s the background to it?
Indeed, a democratic Republic of Korea provides the people with every constitutional right to stage demonstrations and assemblies.
At the same time, the Constitution stipulates that the state may restrict this right if it is considered necessary for the sake of national security or to maintain law and order.
To date, street protests have been the symbol of the nation’s pro-democracy movement after student demonstrators toppled the dictatorial government of the Republic’s first President Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) during the April 19 Students’ Revolution in 1960.
After this, student demonstrations almost became a daily routine against the military regimes of former Presidents Park Chung-hee (1917-1979) and Chun Doo-hwan (1931~ ) during the 1970s and 1980s.
This trend finally prompted a satirical expression: The day begins with a demonstration and ends with a demonstration.
As time went by, labor unions and people from various specific interest groups replaced the students, conducting street protests becoming an easy means of achieving gains, mainly for selfish reasons.
The Saturday “pan-national rally to mark the first anniversary of the Sewol disaster” was legally held at the Seoul City Plaza to pay tribute to the victims and to renew the nation’s commitment to make this society a safer place in which to live.
No one would oppose such a memorial meeting to mourn the death of the passengers, mostly young students, if it had been held legally and peacefully within the boundaries of the law.
However, some 10,000 participants, as estimated by police, tried to march toward the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, occupying the roads and staging violent demonstrations as they were blocked by police.
Police earlier sealed off Gwanghwamun Square with hundreds of buses to prevent the rally participants from approaching Cheong Wa Dae. The demonstrators clashed violently with police as some of them sprayed slogans such as “the government killed all” and “withdrawal of regime” on the buses.
Later, police announced that 71 police vehicles were damaged and 74 policemen, including young men drafted into the police instead of serving in the military, were injured in the clash. Police also said that nine demonstrators were hurt.
The rally was a repeat of Thursday’s (April 16). The organizers of which say the pan-national rally vowed to “gather here again on April 24, 25.”
The “people’s council of Sewol” was formed in May last year and is now attended by members of some 800 organizations, including left-wing and progressive parties, labor unions, collegians and bereaved families.
Worth of note is the fact that most of the leaders of the council have “colorful” careers as “professional” organizers of the past various illegal and violent street protests, represented by the so-called “mad cow disease rallies” in May 2008 that troubled the first year of President Lee Myung-bak’s government.
It is well suspected that left-wing organizations are attempting to strengthen their foothold by abusing the Sewol disaster from the point of view that the rallies to mourn the victims and comfort the bereaved families were becoming violent, with the demonstrators demanding the withdrawal of the President and even the establishment of an interim government.
Any legal and peaceful demonstrations must be guaranteed and protected by law enforcement authorities.
Otherwise, illegal practices should be severely dealt with according to law.
The demonstrators do not have the slightest right to harass citizens in order to attain their selfish political goals.
No one has the right to cause damage and inconvenience to others for their private interests.
The majority of the people are really sick of the stereotyped violent demonstrations held under the guise of mourning the Sewol victims.
The street is the place where people coexist. Street order is essential for social and national order.
Park Moo-jong is The Korea Times advisor. Contact the writer at moojong@ktimes.co.kr.