Park's loyalist kills himself in protest against impeachment

By Kim Se-jeong

A member of a pro-President Park Geun-hye group killed himself over the weekend in Seoul, but the way the group handled his death has raised many eyebrows.

According to police in Nowon-gu, northeastern Seoul, the 60-year-old jumped from his sixth-floor apartment in an apparent suicide Saturday evening. The victim was holding two Korean flags with the message: “If the impeachment is confirmed, I will stop recognizing the Constitutional Court.” No suicide note was found. The police said they were looking into the death, Tuesday.

On Sunday, the pro-government group, against the will of the man’s bereaved family, attempted to set up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall. They described him as a “martyr” for democracy.

Their attempt even led to a clash with the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), which had refused to give permission for the altar.

“The tent with a memorial altar is illegal because the group didn’t obtain approval from the city in advance,” SMG spokesman Kang Tae-woong said on Tuesday.

The city asked the activists to remove the altar and leave the site empty.

Members of the conservative group have been camping out at the plaza since Jan. 21 protest Park’s impeachment. Park was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 9 for her involvement in a corruption scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil.

Despite the city’s order, the group went ahead with erecting the memorial altar Tuesday morning.

As the altar largely remained unvisited, the activists showed extreme hostility to anti-Park activists. They even turned away journalists from liberal media outlets who approached them to ask questions. “We won’t allow you here. You’re pro-North Korea and are ruining this great country,” they shouted.

The conservative activists have been demonstrating to against anti-President protesters who have gathered every Saturday since the end of October. They are strong supporters of the impeached President and her father Park Chung-hee. Also, they label anyone opposing the President and the conservative party as communists.