hankyoreh

By Seok Jin-hwan

The two day, one night Hope Rally to be held starting Aug. 20 in the plaza in front of Seoul City Hall has drawn particular attention due to the en masse participation of opposition parties, the labor sector and civic organizations. In particular, with the five opposition parties and civil organizations coming together in one place over the Lee Myung-bak administration’s labor policy, some are forecasting the rally could become a springboard for opposition unity and policy alliance.

The Hope Rally takes the form of an expansion of the rally held in Busan on Aug. 24 calling for a resolution to the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) standoff, but the participants and the nature of the rally, it takes on the character of a general gathering of those opposed to the current administration. As of Friday, 413 individuals from the five opposition parties, civic organizations, religious groups, academia and labor were participating in the rally’s preparatory committee. The topics covered by the rally include not just the HHIC layoffs, but run the gamut of pending social issues. Participants will call for an end to the government’s pro-chaebol, anti-labor policies, oppose the referendum on free school lunches in Seoul schools, call for the restoration of media fairness and oppose the entry of the Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo into the broadcast market, and call for basic political rights for teachers and government employees. The preparatory committed plans to hold an event for 100,000 people, including ordinary citizens and members of a number of civic organizations, such as those who came up to Seoul for the fourth Hope Bus Campaign.

In particular, as the rally takes place at a sensitive time, two days after the National Assembly’s hearing on HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho and four days before Seoul's referendum on free school lunches, the government and ruling party are watching closely.

Politicians believe the form and scale of the rally will depend on the results of negotiations between the Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) and HHIC, which are to be held prior to Cho’s hearing on Aug. 18.

Individual lawmakers from the Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, will be actively participating in the rally, but the party itself is taking a prudent attitude about focusing on extra-parliamentary rallies. This is because there is considerably opinion that the party should be careful about leading extra-parliamentary rallies.

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