Tag: Gwangju

Anti and Pro-Impeachment Protests Breakouts in Gwangju

The fact that there is a large pro-Yoon protest in Gwangju of all places has to be highly disturbing to the Korean left:

A longtime symbol of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement, Geumnam-ro Street in Gwangju became the staging ground for intensifying political divisions on Saturday, with protesters supporting and opposing President Yoon Suk Yeol gathering at the same time.

The two rallies, held separately along a 680-meter course from May 18 Democracy Square — commemorating the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising — to Geumnam-ro, saw the biggest crowd in Gwangju since Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, and, in particular, the largest anti-impeachment rally.

The conservative Christian organization Save Korea organized a rally opposing Yoon’s impeachment along Geumnam-ro, specifically on sections 3 and 4 of the road from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.

While this was happening, a rally in favor of impeaching Yoon was held on the other side of Geumnam-ro, led by the civic group Gwangju Emergency Action for Immediate Resignation of the Yoon Administration and Social Reform.

To maintain order and prevent physical clashes, police formed barriers between the opposing groups using riot buses.

Local media reported that the police unofficially put the number of people who participated in the anti-Yoon impeachment protest at 30,000, while 10,000 to 20,000 participated in the pro-Yoon impeachment protest.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Man in Gwangju Arrested for Cross Dressing and Entering a Women’s Restroom

This guy just needs to take a trip to some cities in the U.S. where he will be championed for cross dressing and going into a women’s bathroom. In fact he will probably be asked to do drag queen story hour at a local library as well:

A man in his 30s, dressed as a woman and entered the women’s bathroom at dawn, was caught.

The Gwangju Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 16th that it is investigating A on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes (infringement of multiple use places for sexual purposes).

A wearing a skirt and lipstick is suspected of entering an outdoor women’s bathroom in Songjeong-dong, Gwangju, around 3 a.m. that day.

Maeil Kyeongchae

You can read more at the link.

Building Collapses on Bus in Gwangju, Up to 9 People Killed

This is a horrible tragedy over in Gwangju:

Closed-circuit video footage of a building collapse in Gwangju, on June 9, 2021 (Yonhap)

A building collapsed during demolition in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Wednesday, leaving at least nine people dead and eight others seriously injured, fire officials said.

They received a report at 4:22 p.m. that the 5-story building had collapsed and fell onto a bus that was stopped at a station near the construction site. 

As of 8:40 p.m., nine people were confirmed dead and eight others were seriously injured and taken to nearby hospitals. All of them are bus passengers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

ROK Army Chief of Staff Apologizes for 1980 Gwangju Incident; Does It Really Matter?

No apology will ever make the Korean left happy on this issue. Just like with the comfort women issue, they need to keep this issue alive to bash their political enemies with. So in the grand scheme of things this apology is meaningless to the Korean left:

A mother of a victim killed during the May 18 pro-democracy uprising weeps at the national cemetery in the southwestern city of Gwangju on May 17, 2020, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the movement. (Yonhap)

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nam Yeong-shin apologized Friday for the military’s brutal crackdown on protestors during a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju, vowing to fully cooperate with an ongoing probe into the case. 

This is the first time in 40 years that an Army chief officially apologized for the bloody incident.

“I believe that the military’s involvement in the May 18 Democratization Movement is gravely wrong,” Nam said during a parliamentary audit of the Army on Friday. “I’d like to offer a sincere apology to victims and bereaved families.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

British English Teacher Found Dead at School in Gwangju

Condolences to the friends and family of the British English teacher who was found deceased recently at her school in Gwangju:

A British woman in her 20s has been found dead at a middle school in the southwestern city of Gwangju, police said Thursday.

A janitor found the 25-year-old woman, who has been teaching English, in a research room of the school around 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday and reported the case to police.

The English instructor, whose name was withheld, was lying on her back, and there were no signs of fighting with any intruder at the scene, according to the police. 

Her acquaintances have told police that she was supposed to undergo a surgery the same day for a disease that hurt her back and made it difficult for her to breathe.

Yonhap