A group of Korean lawmakers will take turns holding a protest in front of China's Embassy in Seoul in support of a fellow legislator on a hunger strike that has lasted for nearly 10 days against Beijing's repatriation of North Korean defectors, one of the lawmakers said Wednesday.
Seven members of the ruling Saenuri Party will take part in the "relay protest," each staging a one-day rally from Thursday to demonstrate solidarity with Rep. Park Sun-young of the conservative minor Liberty Forward Party, said Rep. Shin Ji-ho, one of the seven lawmakers.
More lawmakers may also join the relay rally.
On Wednesday, Rep. Lee Hoi-chang, former head of the Liberty Forward Party, staged a one-day hunger strike in support of Park.
Park was on a hunger strike in front of the Chinese mission for a ninth day Wednesday to urge Beijing not to return dozens of defectors detained in China to their communist homeland, where it is feared they could face harsh punishment and even execution.
"The issue of defectors is something that can be addressed when public opinion is united beyond party lines or ideologies," Shin said. "Taking this relay protest as an opportunity, we have to get China to halt forced repatriation of North Korean defectors and abide by the convention on the status of refugees."
In the nation's second-largest city of Busan, some 200 activists held a rally near the Chinese consulate to protest against Beijing's policy of repatriating North Korean defectors.
Some held signs, such as one reading "Please, save my friend," while others staged a performance which showed detained North Korean defectors in China being dragged back to the North.
The defector issue has emerged as a possible thorn in relations between Seoul and Beijing, with South Korea taking an unusual tough stance on the latest case. In the past, Korea sought what has been dubbed "quiet diplomacy" with China to settle such issues.
Last week, President Lee Myung-bak urged Beijing to follow international norms on the matter.
China is the only major ally of North Korea and provides diplomatic support and economic assistance to the impoverished nation.
Beijing usually repatriates defectors from North Korea, seeing them as economic migrants, not refugees. (Yonhap)