Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children joined one of the largest anti-government protests ever seen in Seoul on Saturday, demanding South Korean President Park Geun-Hye’s resignation over a snowballing corruption scandal.
Police put the turnout at 260,000, while organizers said one million people took to the streets for what was the third in a series of weekly mass protests that have left Park fighting for her political survival.
On the back of official appeals for calm, police deployed around 25,000 officers, many of them in full riot gear, while police buses and trucks blocked every access road — major or minor — around the presidential Blue House.
As night fell, Seoul’s main ceremonial boulevard Gwanghwamun became a moving river of flickering candles held by the banner-waving, slogan-chanting demonstrators calling on Park to step down.
As with the previous protests, the huge crowds were extremely mixed, with high school students rubbing shoulders with Catholic nuns, laborers, farmers, retirees and young couples marching with babies or young children.
“It was our wedding anniversary yesterday but we cancelled our anniversary trip and came to Seoul because we thought it was more important for our daughter,” said Cho Joo-Pyo, who came with his wife and their two-year-old.
Cho’s family had travelled from Jeonju, around 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Seoul — one of tens of thousands who took trains or buses from towns and cities across the country to demonstrate.
“Park Geun-Hye must resign because she didn’t take good care of our country,” said 11-year-old Park Ye-Na.
Source: AFP
