Citizens come out nationwide to protest against NIS interference

Posted on : 2013-08-12 14:25 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
How the protests go from here will depend on outcome of Aug. 14 National Assembly hearing
 August 10. (by Lee Jeong-woo
August 10. (by Lee Jeong-woo

By Kim Hyo-sil and Choi Yu-bin, staff reporters

Even amid heavy monsoon rains and scorching heat, more than 100,000 candles (according to estimates by the organizers) remained lit.

Around 50,000 citizens (according to the organizers) took part in the 6th Pan-Citizen Candlelight Rally at Seoul Square in front of Seoul City Hall on the evening of Aug. 10. (The police estimated there were around 16,000 people in the rally.)

They began to gather around 3 pm, and two hours later the crowd had increased to around 20,000. When night fell, the plaza was so packed that there was no room to move around. Citizens who were unable to find a spot clambered up trees and pillars in the area and watched the rally.

The Civic Society Emergency Coalition organized the candlelight cultural festival for Revealing the Truth about the National Intelligence Service’s Political Scheming and Presidential Election Interference and for Answering Charges about a Cover-Up. The coalition said that around 100,000 people gathered altogether in candlelight vigils not only in Busan but also in Daejeon, Daegu, Ulsan, and Changwon. In Gwangju, approximately 1,000 people held a candlelight vigil on Aug. 9.

The candlelight demonstrations denouncing the National Intelligence Service (NIS)’s involvement in the presidential election began with a gathering of about 500 people in front of the KT main office in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul on June 21, which was organized by the Alliance of Korean University Students for the 21st Century.

One week later, on June 28, around 5,000 people (the police estimate is 1,800) came together for a candlelight vigil in front of the Donghwa Duty Free building in Gwanghwamun. This vigil was planned by an emergency coalition of 284 civic groups. After this, the number of participants gradually increased, until 50 days later around 50,000 candles were lit in Seoul alone.

The candles have not been as lit as fast as they were during the protests over the import of US beef in 2008. In 2008, the vigils began with 20,000 people on May 2. Before 30 days had passed, about 50,000 people had gathered, and by June, it was recorded that million participants took part around the country.

But considering a variety of inclement factors during this series of vigils, including the longest monsoon season on record (49 days, from June 17 to Aug. 4) the heat wave, the indifference of conservative media outlets, and vacation season for office workers, it does not appear that the untapped potential of these candlelight vigils can be so simply written off.

“Some citizens had felt uncomfortable taking part in the candlelight vigils, since they viewed them as protests against the presidential election,” said An Jin-geol, joint manager for People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD). “But now they are enraged at the National Intelligence Service and the response of the current administration. Citizen participation is increasing because more and more people sympathize with the vigils’ message of the importance of democracy.”

The rage of the citizens who are denouncing the NIS’s interference in last December’s presidential election now seems to be directed at the present administration, whose negligent silence on the issue has hindered democracy.

At this candlelight vigil, the gathering of civic groups called for President Park Geun-hye to apologize and to promise to prevent this from ever happening again; for NIS Director Nam Jae-joon to be fired immediately; and for the NIS to be comprehensively reformed.

The next candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 pm on Aug. 14. This is the day when former NIS director Won Sei-hoon and former Seoul police commissioner Kim Yong-pan will testify at the National Assembly hearing.

“The size of candlelight vigils in the future will depend on what happens in the parliamentary investigation,” said Jang Dae-hyun, chair of the executive committee for the Korea Alliance for Progressive Movement (KAPM). “If the witnesses do not testify properly at the hearing, the number of citizens who decide that candlelight vigils are the only option could increase.”

The university professors and students who published manifestos have promised additional action.

The student councils of Seoul National University, Ewha Womans University, Duksung Women’s University, Pusan National University, Sookmyung Women’s University, and Chonnam National University will hold a rally in front of the headquarters of the Saenuri Party (NFP) on Aug. 13 to condemn the NFP’s deceptive behavior in the parliamentary investigation and its evasion of responsibility for the election interference.

The Network of Professors and Researchers Making Manifestos is planning on holding a nationwide gathering of professors in mid-August if the parliamentary investigation is not conducted properly.

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories