hankyoreh

Members of conservative organizations held a demonstration and tried to force their way into the Munwha Broadcasting Corporation and Korea Broadcasting System on the evening of June 13. Those protesting argued that the two television stations have reported incorrect information on U.S. beef.

The demonstrations began at 3 p.m., with approximately 7,000 members of conservative organizations, including the Korean Association of Veterans Suffering from Agent Orange and the Free Citizen’s Alliance of Korea, demonstrating in front of Seoul Station. Through the demonstration, they were hoping to convey the message that the candlelight protests “have been made by pro-leftists to incite disrupt society.” Next, protesters marched to Cheonggyecheon Plaza for a 5 p.m. demonstration. They broke some pictures that were exhibited at candle vigil.

An hour later, protesters moved toward MBC and KBS, both of which are located on Yeouido. Of the 500 people demonstrating in front of MBC, 40 tried to go over the wall in front of the building and scuffled with police.

Meanwhile, there were 600 people demonstrating at KBS. Twenty of the protesters clashed with police when they tried to enter the station. There were also run-ins between protesters from this group and another group of people protesting against what they say are government efforts to control the media.

The demonstrations wrapped up at around 9 p.m. after representatives from the conservative groups met with high-level staff from the two broadcasting stations. The representatives said that they received a promise from the broadcasters that their opinions would be given coverage equivalent to coverage of the candlelight protests. They also said, “We will observe the broadcasts on both networks through June 17. If there is no change in the coverage by that time, we will stage a sit-in beginning on June 18.”

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