By The Straits Times | Created at 2024-12-06 04:49:18 | Updated at 2024-12-26 00:36:34
2 weeks ago
Updated
Dec 06, 2024, 11:22 AM
Published
Dec 06, 2024, 11:17 AM
SEOUL - The first major Saturday protest since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law is set to take place in Seoul’s Yeouido, on Dec 7.
The organisers say that an estimated 200,000 people will take part in the protest.
The Group for the Movement to Oust the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration, led primarily by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Korea’s largest umbrella labor union, plans to hold a large-scale rally in front of the National Assembly at 3pm.
At present, the motion to impeach the president is expected to be put to the vote at 7pm on Dec 7.
The group has reported an expected turnout of 200,000 participants to the police. This figure is four times larger than the estimated attendance at the first candlelight vigil that called for the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye in 2016.
Initially, the rally was set to take place in Gwanghwamun, but the venue was moved to the National Assembly in anticipation of the impeachment vote in parliament.
In response, conservative groups have announced a counter-rally in Gwanghwamun.
They have been labeling the parliamentary vote taking place in the National Assembly as an “illegal impeachment”. Conservative organisers have reported expected attendance of 15,000 at their rally to the police. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
