Tens of thousands of protesters yesterday rallied in Seoul for the fourth in a weekly series of mass protests urging South Korean President Park Geun-hye to resign over a corruption scandal.
The demonstrations — among the largest seen in South Korea since the pro-democracy protests of the 1980s — have provided a stark challenge to Park’s authority, but the president has defied calls to step down.
Organizers said the candlelit rally drew about 300,000 protesters who chanted “Park Geun-hye resign” as they gathered in central Seoul.
Photo: AFP
Police put the number at 70,000.
There was a heavy police presence, with buses and trucks blocking access roads to the presidential Blue House.
“We want to have a peaceful protest,” Korean Confederation of Trade Unions spokesman Nam Jeong-su told reporters.
Nam said that the ranks of protesters had been swelled by thousands of high-school students who finished their final exams earlier in the week.
And this being South Korea — with the world’s highest smartphone penetration rate — many had downloaded a special app showing a burning candle to hold aloft during the rally.
“We’re here to show my children the site where history is being made,” said Kim Myung-hee, 30, who came with her husband and two daughters. “Park simply doesn’t feel ashamed of the wrongs she and her friend did. She must go.”
The anti-Park rallies have continued, despite two televised apologies from the president over a scandal linked to her friendship with long-time confidante Choi Soon-sil, who has been arrested on charges of fraud and abuse of power.
Prosecutors have been investigating allegations that Choi, 60, leveraged their relationship to coerce donations from large companies like Samsung Electronics Co to nonprofit foundations that she set up and used for personal gain.
She is also accused of interfering in government affairs, despite holding no official position.
Lurid reports of the unhealthy influence Choi wielded over Park have seen the president’s approval ratings plunge to 5 percent — a record low for a sitting president.
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