Far-right groups hold protests across Seoul over Chuseok holiday

Members of the ultra-conservative youth group Freedom Univ. march across central Seoul, Oct. 3, after holding an anti-government and anti-China rally. Newsis

Far-right groups staged a series of protests across central Seoul throughout the Chuseok holiday, drawing thousands of participants and prompting heightened police presence as authorities reiterated their commitment to curbing hate speech and public disorder.

The demonstrations, organized by multiple groups, included anti-China rallies, marches of support for disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol and gatherings challenging historical narratives around Japan’s wartime sex slavery.

One of the largest events was organized by the ultra-conservative youth group Freedom Univ., a key actor in the ongoing anti-China movement. According to unofficial police estimates, around 1,500 people gathered in the Gwanghwamun area and marched through the capital on Oct. 3, waving giant national flags.

Participants, mostly young people dressed in black, repeatedly blew vuvuzelas and shouted slogans such as "Communist Party Out," along with racial slurs and derogatory expressions, while waving leaflets with slogans including "We are Charlie Kirk," "No visa-free entry for 30 million Chinese tourists," "China Out" and "Korea for Koreans."

Members of the ultra-conservative youth group Freedom Univ. march across central Seoul, Oct. 3, after holding an anti-government and anti-China rally. Newsis

Police had issued an administrative notice barring the use of hate speech against particular ethnicities, nationalities, religions or genders on grounds of public safety. Freedom Univ. filed an injunction on Sept. 30, challenging the restriction.

The court granted the injunction, allowing the assembly to proceed as originally planned. The court said it was not because it would allow hate speech but because of a procedural flaw by the police regarding the notification for such a ban.

Earlier in the day, conservative Christian pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon’s Liberty Unification Party held a gathering titled “national rally for state normalization” in central Seoul, criticizing the detention of former Korea Communications Commission Chair Lee Jin-sook. Lee was taken into custody earlier this month for repeatedly refusing police requests to appear for questioning over Election Law violations but was released two days later.

Traffic on Sejong-daero toward City Hall was completely blocked as the crowd marched from Gwanghwamun to Samgakji Station.

In a separate rally, Yoon's supporters marched from Seoul National Cemetery to Gwanghwamun, calling for his release and return to politics.

Separately, people gathered at Seoul Station and City Hall to chant slogans including "Arrest [President] Lee Jae Myung," while carrying Korean and American flags in events organized by the Korea Veterans’ Alliance and other groups.

On Wednesday, far-right demonstrators marched from Songpa Station to the Seoul Eastern Detention Center where former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun — one of the figures behind Yoon's martial law fiasco last December — is detained. They called for Kim's release, insisting they would offer him Chuseok greetings.

Far-right protesters wave national flags at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Oct. 3, after holding an anti-government rally supporting disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yonhap

They carried Korean and U.S. national flags, along with banners bearing U.S. President Donald Trump’s portrait, expressing confidence that Trump’s possible visit to Korea during the upcoming APEC event would lead to the release of Yoon and Kim.

On Wednesday, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance called on Japan’s prime minister to issue an apology and resolve historical sex slavery issues while some far-right activists held a counterprotest just meters away.

The counterprotesters claimed there are no documents that the victims suffered from sexual abuse during World War II and disparaged a nearby statue honoring victims.

Police closely monitored the situation, alert to any possible clashes between the two groups.