Nationwide action for ousting of Park Geun-hye

Protest held in November 12, 2016

Nationwide action for ousting of Park Geun-hye is a South Korean protest continuing on Saturdays in order to demand ousting of Park Geun-hye regime since October 29, 2016, by Emergency People's Action for Ousting of Park Geun-hye Regime.^[1][2]

Background

In October 2016, a political scandal erupted over President Park Geun-hye's undisclosed links to Choi Soon-sil. Choi Soon-sil, a woman with no security clearance and no official position, was found to have been giving secret counsel to the president.

Choi Soon-sil has known President Park since the 1970s when her father, Choi Tae-min, was then-president Park Chung-hee's mentor as the family was still grieving from the assassination of then first-lady Yuk Young-soo.^[3] Choi at that time claimed that the shamanic leader can channel communication to her dead mother.^[4]

Both have maintained friendship since then, even up to the point when Park Geun-hye is president. Park's imperial manner during her tenure has raised suspicions due to her deliberate communication limit with parts of the government and the press.^[5]

Choi, who has no official government position, was revealed to have access to confidential documents and information for the president, and acted as a close confidant for the president. Choi and President Park's senior staff have used their influence to extort W77.4 billion (~ $774M) from Korean chaebols – family-owned large business conglomerates – and set up two media and sports-related foundations, Mir and K-sports foundations.^[6][7][8] She embezzled money during the process, and it is reported that some of them were used to support her daughter Chung Yoo-ra's dressage activities in Germany. She is also accused of rigging the admissions process at Ewha Womans University to help her daughter get accepted at the university. Ah Jong-bum, a top presidential aide, was arrested for abusing power and helping Choi; he denied wrongdoing and claims he simply followed presidential orders.^[9][10]

On October 25, 2016, Park Geun-hye publicly acknowledged her close ties with Choi. On October 28, Park dismissed key members of her top office staff and Park's opinion rating dropped to 5%, the lowest ever for sitting South Korean president, and surpassing the 6% approval rating of former President Kim Young-sam, who was widely blamed for forcing the Korean economy into the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.^{[11][12][13][14]} Her approval rating ranged from 1 to 3% for Korean citizens under 60 years of age, while it remained higher at 13% for over 60 years age group.^[15] Her approval rating then plunged futher to 4% as the scandal escalated.^[16]

Protest

1st protest : October 29, 2016

It is a candlelight vigil which censured Choi Soon-sil gate and demanded resignation of president Park Geun-hye. Official name is 'assemble! rage! #resign _ Park-Geun hye civilians' candlelight'. 20,000 people participated in the protest.(Organiser and media estimated) From October 29 on, continuous protests on Saturdays will be held.^[17]

2nd protest : November 5, 2016

In 5 November, hundreds of thousands of South Koreans protested in central Seoul on Saturday, calling on embattled President Park Geun-hye to resign over a growing influence-peddling scandal.

Roughly 43,000 people were at the candle-lit rally early on Saturday evening, according to police. Organizers said a growing crowd of 100,000 had assembled, making the protest one of the biggest since demonstrations in 2008 against U.S. beef imports.^[18][19]

3rd protest : November 12, 2016

In 12 November, one Million (according to Organizer) held the protest rally (also known as "2016 Minjung General Uprising") in Cenral Seoul, many of whom were ordinary citizens who packed the main streets running through the city centre including a 12-lane thoroughfare.^[20]

They came with family, and students and young parents pushing strollers were among the crowd as were people in wheelchairs and crutches, in a sharp contrast from some previous rallies often dominated by militant unions and civic groups that had turned violent and clashed with police. It was one of the biggest anti-government protests the country has seen in three decades since June 26 1987 when 1.4 million people protested against Chun Doo-hwan regime.^[21]

4th protest : November 19, 2016

The protests continue as over 500,000 people (according to Organizer) held demonstrations in Seoul. Many people also held demonstrations in other cities nationwide.^[22]

In the other side, 10,000 Park supporters (67,000 according to their supporters) named Park Samo (people who love Park Geun-hye) staged a counter-rally at Seoul Station Square. The rally was began at 2 pm.^[23][24]

5th protest : November 26, 2016

As Park's approval rating plunged to 4%, Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans walking to the street again. Calling for Park's resignation or Impeachment. Organizers said 800,000 people had gathered early on Saturday evening and expected a total of 1.5 million people to join by the end of the night. Police declined to give an estimate of the crowd size but said 25,000 personnel had been dispatched to police the protest.^[18]

6th protest : December 3, 2016

In Tuesday, 29 November, A sixth nationwide anti-President rally will be held in Seoul and other cities as planned on Saturday, 3 December.^[25] In 3 December, up to 2.3 Million people took to the streets across the nation, including 1.7 Million people in Seoul and 600,000 in other cities In South Korea. It was estimated to be the largest demonstrations in South Korean history, surpassing a million people walked to the street in June 1987 and 1.9 million people in the demonstrations in previous weekends.^[26] On the other side of Seoul, some 15,000 loyal supporters of President Park staged a rally in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, denouncing anti-Park protestors as “witch-hunting” the president. The police tally of attendance was 1,500. In Friday, Seoul local court ordered police to allow citizens to march up to 100 meters from the presidential office or Blue House for the rally slated for the weekend.^[27]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Movement for the resignation of Park Geun-hye.