A group of members from more than 130 civic organizations in South Korea calls for the Japanese government to abolish discrimination against a high school for ethnic Koreans in Japan, called “Chosun School,” in a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on April 22, 2016. The Japanese government has moved to exclude only this school among other high schools for foreigners from its free education program for high schools, citing tense Japan-North Korea relations and the North’s nuclear and missile threats. Most of the students in the school are from pro-Pyongyang families. (Yonhap)
The fast response unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency trains against riots at a command inspection in Seoul on Feb. 23, 2016, testing their preparedness against violent protests, road occupation and other scenarios. (Yonhap)
People sleep next to a bronze statue of a girl symbolizing the so-called “comfort women’ issue in front of the site of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Jan. 12, 2016, as they stage a sit-in protest to oppose a recent landmark deal between South Korea and Japan over women who were forced to work in Japan’s military brothels during World War II and Japan’s demand that the statue be removed. (Yonhap)
It is good to see the anti-government protests this weekend did not turn violent like the last ones. I do have to chuckle in regards to the opinion of how many people showed up. The protesters say they had 50,000 while the police say there was 14,000. At least the discrepancy isn’t as bad as all the million man marches in the US where there is only a few thousand people actually there:
Tens of thousands of protesters held a massive rally Saturday to protest the government’s move to adopt state history textbooks and push for labor reform and it ended without any clashes with police.
The rally, the second of its kind in three weeks, brought together about 14,000 participants who gathered at Seoul Plaza in central Seoul and marched peacefully, according to police. Organizers put the number at some 50,000.
The focal point of the rally was whether the rally would turn violent as some participants at the Nov. 14 one brandished metal pipes, clashing with police who fired water cannons at them.
A farmer still remains in critical condition after being knocked down by a police water cannon.
Organizers vowed to hold Saturday’s rally in a peaceful manner, while police also warned that they will take stern action if the rally turns violent. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link.
This photo, taken on Dec. 2, 2015, shows part of a makeshift tent on the premises of Seoul’s Dongguk University where a haggard Kim Kun-jung, vice chief of the General Student Association at the university, stages the 49th day of a hunger strike. He is demanding that Ven. Ilmyeon, head of the school’s board of directors, and Ven. Bogwang, the university’s president, step down over the alleged theft of a Buddhist painting and plagiarism of a paper, respectively. The school, founded by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, has been embroiled in the scandal. (Yonhap)
So does anyone agree with the Korean court that the KCTU can be trusted to hold a peaceful rally this weekend in Seoul?:
A court has ruled against a police move to ban a rally planned for Saturday in central Seoul by civic, labor and farmers groups that held a massive anti-government demonstration on Nov. 14.
The Seoul Administrative Court said Thursday that it had accepted the request from the groups to annul the police ban on their second rally.
The decision comes five days after police announced a prohibition of the Dec. 5 rally requested by the groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), citing a possible repeat of the violence between police and protesters at the previous demonstration.
“It is unreasonable to presume that the second rally will be violent only because the organizers are the same to the first one,” the court said. “The organizers have repeatedly said they will hold the second one peacefully.” [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link.
https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/671301601085255680
Minor opposition Justice Party leader Shim Sang-jung speaks at a debate at the National Assembly on Dec. 1, 2015, while wearing a mask in a message against government moves to ban the covering of faces during protests. After a violent demonstration on Nov. 14, the ruling party has proposed a bill to prohibit protesters from wearing masks to hide their identities. Unionists and civic groups are planning another mass rally for Dec. 5, despite the government disallowing it. (Yonhap)
For ROK Heads living or visiting Seoul you might want to avoid the City Hall area on December 5th as it will likely be the seen of yet more violent protests:
An association that speaks for farmers vowed on Saturday to go ahead with a massive rally planned for next weekend, setting the stage for another clash with police.
The move came after police informed the association composed of farmers earlier in the day that they will ban the group from holding a rally in central Seoul on Dec. 5.
Earlier this week, the association notified police that it planned to hold a rally that could draw some 10,000 participants near City Hall next Saturday.
Police warned that those who organize a rally are subject to punishment if they go ahead with the event despite being banned from holding it. Participants of a rally could also face punishment if they defy police orders to disperse.
Still, the farmers’ association said its members will go ahead with a rally on Dec. 5 as scheduled. It also said it plans to seek a court injunction to overturn the ban imposed by police. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
