hankyoreh

Conservative groups rally in opposition to the appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on Oct. 9. (Yonhap News)

Conservative groups demanding Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation gathered in downtown Seoul for another large-scale rally on Oct. 9, following a previous one on Oct. 3. The demonstration was scheduled to begin at noon that day, but Sejong Road was thronged with participants from the morning hours of Hangul Day, a national holiday. Analysts said that with their confidence buoyed by the unexpectedly huge turnout on the previous National Foundation Day rally, conservative groups took to social media and other platforms to rally supporters, while unaffiliated voters have also begun actively making their voices heard as the Cho situation drags out into the long term.

At 11 am that day, there was still an hour left before the rally was to begin – but Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5 of the Seoul Subway was already crowded to a virtual standstill. The journey from the subway to Gwanghwamun Square took over 10 minutes, with people already filling the spaces from the station’s Exit 7 to the sidewalks by Sejong Road’s park and the staircase in front of the Sejong Center. Rally participants held South Korean and US flags in one hand and signs in the other with messages such as “Unseat Moon Jae-in” and “Arrest Cho Kuk.”

As noon arrived, conservative groups began raising their voices with the launch of the rally throughout the Gwanghwamun area. In front of the small park on Sejong Road, a rally was held by the “Pan-National Struggle Headquarters for the Resignation of Moon Jae-in,” with Christian Council of Korea President Jeon Gwang-hoon serving as the general representative; in front of the Dongwha Duty Free Shop, crowds of conservative group members held a demonstration for a “campaign to stop the communist transformation of the Republic of Korea and urge the resignation of Cho Kuk.” A right-wing group called the “Citizens’ Revolution Committee” postponed a demonstration scheduled for 1 pm to join the Pan-National Struggle Headquarters rally.

Signs of conservatives rallying their forces once again are also evident on YouTube and SNS. In KaKao Talk group chat rooms where many conservative groups congregate, a message calling for pressure on progressive media and civic groups has recently been spreading rapidly.

“We could get more people to participate, and we need to fight in a way that is sustainable. We have to strike a blow against Cho Kuk, the Moon Jae-in administration, and left-wing media and civic groups,” it read. Many of the conservative rally participants the Hankyoreh met that day said they had heard about it through conservative YouTube channels.

Gwanghwamun rallies no longer exclusive to far right

But the Gwanghawmun rallies are no longer exclusively centering on the “far right” – the contingent that refuses to accept the impeachment of ex-President Park Geun-hye. The conservative right has been rallying once again as the previously isolated extreme right-wing minority holding South Korean flags and demanding Park’s release has been joined on the streets by other conservatives who take issue with both Park and Cho Kuk.

“Before, people who suggested ‘holding a rally’ wouldn’t have gotten much traction among conservatives,” said Yoon Tae-gon, head of the political analysis department for the Moa Agenda and Strategy Group.

“But now certain messages have been selected as a ‘common denominator,’ even without the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) enlisting people. You have the core minority on the right that insists that ‘Park Geun-hye is innocent’ making their own arguments, but the right has also gained a sense of expansiveness as it combines with those focused on one thing, namely opposing Cho Kuk,” he said. The decision by LKP figures such as party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn and floor leader Na Kyung-won to forgo their originally scheduled demonstration that day and take part individually in the Gwanghwamun rallies was seen as reflecting their confidence that they can produce an effect beyond simply mustering participants for demonstrations.

While some of the demonstrators were far-right voices decrying the Moon Jae-in administration as “only benefiting North Korea,” many others expressed disappointment about the Cho situation. A 38-year-old surnamed Min who was attending with family members said, “I don’t understand why they [the Blue House] keep holding out and shielding Cho Kuk.”

“I think the appointment of Cho Kuk as Justice Minister was what really triggered this dissatisfaction with the administration,” Min said.

Kim Jin-a, 39, said, “This isn’t a ‘ruling party vs. opposition’ issue. It’s about common sense and nonsense.”

Meanwhile, another rally was held in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood in support of Cho. Members of the online community Ruliweb held a citizen engagement cultural festival titled “We Are Cho Kuk” near the National Assembly to call for prosecutorial reforms.

By Kwon Ji-dam, Kang Jae-gu, and Kim Hye-yoon, staff reporters

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