Tag: protests

Elderly Man Wields Knife and Stabs Himself In Front of Mayor of Seoul

| February 25, 2017

Here is yet another example of someone in Korea doing something wacky to show their displeasure with something:

A 79-year-old man, identified only by his last name Lee, lies down on the floor after stabbing himself in the abdomen with a weapon in front of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon (L) at the city hall on Feb. 24, 2017. (Yonhap)

An elderly man unsatisfied with the capital city’s development policy stabbed himself while Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was delivering a congratulatory speech at an opening of an exhibition at the city hall Friday, municipal officials and witnesses said.

The 79-year old man, identified only by his last name Lee, approached Mayor Park with a weapon at around 10 a.m. and stabbed himself in the abdomen, after shouting “Can you say you are a mayor?” and “I need to die,” according to the witnesses. He was drunk when the incident took place.

Lee was rushed to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.

He reportedly had conflicts with a district office after the city government decided not to carry out a development project. The amount of compensation suggested by the district office fell short of what was asked by a development committee headed by Lee.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder if this guy was inspired by this brave defender of Dokdo?

Overseas Koreans Protest In Front of Danish Detention Center

| February 1, 2017

I guess when it is winter in Denmark there must not be anything better to do then protest outside a detention center:

In front of the detention center where Chung Yoo-ra is held on Jan. 13, a candlelight rally is held demanding her repatriation. About 20 overseas Koreans and locals exclaim, “Yoo-ra, let’s go back to Korea!” [LEE HYUN]
On Jan. 13, there were about 20 overseas Koreans, from places such as Copenhagen, London, and Sweden, gathered with locals carrying candles in front of the detention center in Aalborg. Like the weekly Saturday rallies held in Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, they were picketing, saying, “Yoo-ra, let’s go back to South Korea” and “Instead of pizza, eat some [Korean food].”

At the Aalborg detention center one has the luxury to order in pizza. The individual to first propose a candlelight vigil was an overseas Korean residing in Sweden named Lim Ji-hye.

“Compared to Northern Europe,” she said, “our country is still at a stage where we do not have democracy. I think that this is something we must experience as democratic growing pains.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Crazy Pro-Park Protester Drives Truck Into JTBC News Station

| December 21, 2016

South Korean protests have a track record of causing crazy people to do stuff like this.  I don’t what this guy expected JTBC to do? The tablet with the files on it was legitimate news that they couldn’t simply ignore because it would lead to mass protests against the sitting President.  If this guy wants to be pissed off at anyone he should be upset with President Park and her friend behind this scandal Choi Soon-sil:

A truck driven by a South Korean man in his 40s slammed into the main gate of broadcasting channel JTBC on Monday, whose initial reports on President Park Geun-hye’s alleged documents leaks led to her impeachment earlier in the month.

The 45-year man surnamed Kim crashed his 1.5-ton truck into the main entrance of JTBC in Mapo in western Seoul at around 7:25 p.m. apparently in protest of the television channel’s reports on Park, according to the police.

Wearing the Marine Corps uniform, Kim tried to break into the gate by driving his truck back and forth some 10 times, but his vehicle was stuck between the doors before the police arrested him at the scene.

The incident left JTBC’s glass doors broken and the door frames warped, but caused no further damage, according to the firefighting authorities.

At the time of arrest, Kim was carrying a letter for JTBC’s president and a placard on his truck, which satirically recommended the JTBC head as the next South Korean president.

The police quoted Kim as saying that “The entire country is in a bind because of (JTBC’s) reports on a tablet PC.” The police said they will interrogate him to find out the exact motive.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

Picture of the Day: North Korea Alters Protest Photos to Hide ROK Economic Development

| December 11, 2016

N.K. alters Seoul rally photos

This screen capture from the North’s Korean Central TV on Dec. 7, 2016, shows blurs in its broadcast of a rally in downtown Seoul, apparently trying to hide tall buildings around the site. Pyongyang has been active in reporting weekend protests in South Korea demanding the president’s resignation, but analysts say it still didn’t want to show South Korea’s economic development to its people. (Yonhap)

Why Foreigners Should Not Attend Protests In South Korea

| December 3, 2016

Many foreigners do not seem to realize this, but attending protest rallies is actually illegal in Korea:

Foreigners participating in the protests against President Park Geun-hye may carry legal complications ― theoretically.

“As legal counsel I would say not to go to the rallies, as there are some articles in law that in principle prohibit foreigners from attending rallies,” said Nam Won-chul, a lawyer with Hwang Mok Park law firm.

According to the Immigration Control Act, “No foreigner sojourning in the Republic of Korea shall engage in any political activity with the exception of cases provided by this Act or other statutes.” The act empowers the Ministry of Justice to order a violator “in writing to suspend such activity” or “take other necessary measures.”

This may include deportation or a ban on visa renewal, according to one source familiar with the matter.

The law applies to all foreigners regardless of visa type, Nam says. “According to the text of the article, I think all foreigners are uniformly prohibited from political activities.” [Korea Times]

You can read more about the law at the link.