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Civic groups hold the 10th candlelight rally for prosecutorial reform in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 19. (Kim Jung-hyo, staff photographer)

Five days after Cho Kuk stepped down as Minister of Justice, South Korean citizens demanding prosecutorial reforms gathered with candles once again on Oct. 19 in front of the National Assembly building in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood. The demonstrators were unanimous in their message: now is the time for the National Assembly to focus on passing legislation for prosecutorial reforms.

The Pan-National Citizens’ Alliance for Ending Judicial Vices and Reforming the Prosecutors held a 10th candlelight cultural festival at 6 pm that day on Uisadang Road in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, with a slogan declaring, “The National Assembly must answer the people’s command.” The group had initially planned to temporarily suspend its candlelight demonstrations for prosecutorial reforms after Oct. 12, but declared plans to hold another in front of the National Assembly after Cho stepped down on Oct. 14. Around the same time, a group calling itself “Northern Political Humor Bulletin Board People” – consisting of members of the online community Ruliweb – held another citizens’ cultural festival in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho to demand prosecutorial reforms and the establishment of an investigation office for crimes by senior public officials.

The candlelit rally in Yeouido began with a performance featuring a massive Korean flag, 24m wide and 17m tall. “The time has come for the National Assembly to respond to the citizens’ demand for prosecutorial reform,” the demonstrators chanted.

“We’re calling for the establishment of the corruption investigation office so that the Republic of Korea can stop being called a republic of corruption. But lawmakers in the Liberty Korea Party are obstructing these efforts on the grounds that they’re designed to extend what they call a dictatorship. That’s ridiculous,” said Jin Seong-jun, a former political affairs secretary for the president, during the event.

The streets in front of the National Assembly were already crammed with people before the rally began. At 1 pm, people began to show up in the four lanes in front of large screens that had been set up near exits 2 and 3 of National Assembly Station. Protesters from all over the country — Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Daejeon, and even as far as Pohang, South Gyeongsang Province — shouted the slogans, “Answer us, National Assembly!” and “Set up the corruption investigation office!” While most of the protesters were middle-aged, young people and families with babies in strollers could also be seen.

Near exit 5 of the subway station, on the other side of the street, was a counter-protest by a conservative group called Freedom Coalition. Along with calling for Moon Jae-in’s impeachment and Cho Kuk’s arrest, the conservative groups also got in a vulgarity-laced shouting match with the organizers of the candlelight rally.

The demonstrators in the candlelight rally agreed that, since the baton of prosecutorial reform has been passed to the National Assembly, lawmakers need to strive to pass related legislation. “The legislation has to pass through the National Assembly for the prosecutorial reform to begin. The National Assembly still has work to do, and I showed up here at Yeouido because I wanted to tell lawmakers to pay attention to the will of the people,” said Choe Jun-seok, a 21-year-old university student.

“The National Assembly needs to move ahead with debate about passing the prosecutorial reform bill, but it appears that lawmakers with the Liberty Korea Party are stopping that from moving forward,” said Heo Mi-jin, a 38-year-old who brought along her 5-year-old child.

Civic groups hold the 10th candlelight rally for prosecutorial reform in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 19. (Kim Jung-hyo, staff photographer)

Emphasis on need for body to investigate corruption among high-ranking officials

Demonstrators placed particular stress on the establishment of an office to investigate corruption by high-ranking officials. “The governing authorities have immense power. We need to set up the corruption investigation office to ensure they don’t abuse that power,” said Choe Yun-jeong, 53, who lives in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

“It’s not right that there aren’t any serious checks on the prosecutors, considering that they have the authority to both conduct investigations and to make indictments. For the corruption investigation office to be able to do its job properly, I think it needs to have jurisdiction over the prosecutors as well,” said a 55-year-old protester from Incheon surnamed Mun.

At 1 pm on the same day, the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) held a large-scale outdoor demonstration at Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul, under the name of the Public Briefing Calling for a Major Change in Government and declared that it was time to hold the Moon administration responsible for its failings. “We forced Cho Kuk to resign, but that’s just the beginning. Let’s make this incompetent and hypocritical government face the music,” said LKP floor leader Na Kyung-won while standing on stage.

By Kim Min-je, staff reporter

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