SKorean cultural event turns into anti-government rally
Thousands of masked protesters take to streets of capital again to vent frustration with Park Geun-hye administration
South Korea witnessed another mass rally against the government Saturday, albeit on a smaller scale than other demonstrations this year.
Police estimated that around 5,000 people gathered in central Seoul -- twice as many as were expected to attend an approved cultural event, which became more of a political protest by an umbrella organization made up of unionists and civic groups, according to local news agency Yonhap.
Unlike last month when tens of thousands of demonstrators were encircled by police officers, no physical clashes were reported between attendees and the authorities on this occasion.
As with a related rally Dec. 5, participants marched close to a hospital where a 69-year-old man remains comatose after sustaining serious brain injuries during November’s conflict -- video footage showed him being swept off his feet by a police water cannon.
A popular theme again Saturday was the demand for President Park Geun-hye to step down, along with calls for the abandonment of her planned labor reforms.
Union leader Han Sang-gyun was arrested this month for his part in organizing rallies that the government deems illegal.
The perception that the state has been clamping down on hard-won freedoms in South Korea has raised concerns among critics that Park has been inspired by the authoritarian rule of her father, the late Park Chung-hee.
In the decades since Park senior’s presidency, the nation has adopted democracy and played an increasingly visible role in global affairs.
Yet the past continues to haunt Park, who admitted Friday at Seoul’s presidential office that she has been losing sleep over an ongoing parliamentary delay in approving her aforementioned labor reforms -- which she sees as vital to ensuring economic revitalization and the creation of jobs for young people.
Opponents argue that the president is pandering to management interests and that her plans would only make employees more insecure.
Park has around two years left in office -- recent history suggests that it will only become more challenging for her to achieve parliamentary backing, as she would not be the first South Korean leader to fall into lame duck status.
