Peaceful rally garners attention at home, abroad

Saturday’s peaceful candlelight vigil calling for President Park Geun-hye to step down over the scandal involving her close friend Choi Soon-sil garnered attention and made headlines within and beyond the nation.

Despite the embattled president’s second apology last week, calls have continued to grow for Park to take responsibility for the state crisis. Some 1.1 million angry citizens took to the street Saturday.

News agency Reuters reported that Gwanghwamun Square was flooded with citizens of all ages, ranging from “students to families including young couples pushing strollers and protesters in wheelchairs.” It said that the peaceful march “contrasted with the violence of some previous rallies dominated by militant unions and civic groups that clashed with police.”

 
Many foreign media outlets highlighted the peaceful atmosphere of Saturday’s well-organized rally, while analyzing how citizens taking to the street for three consecutive Saturdays would change the situation of the beleaguered president.

American newspaper Washington Post said that Saturday’s protest was “no small feat in a country with a vibrant protest culture” and that it “increased the pressure on Park over a widening corruption and influence-peddling controversy.”

“Although South Korea is no stranger to corruption scandals, this one has infuriated people who think that democracy has been circumvented and wonder whether the country was being run by a ‘shadow president’ with no experience.”

Washington Post added that South Koreans are “angry that the institutions of government -- from the prosecutor’s office to the presidential Blue House itself -- not only did not intervene, but seemed to have helped Choi.”

British broadcaster BBC’s Stephen Evans reported from the scene that “the protesters are more raucous than they were last week -- still peaceful but there’s more chanting than there was then.” 

The sound of citizens shouting was loud enough to reach the Blue House and the BBC said “if she (President Park) is at home there, the noise will be inescapable.”

American broadcaster CNN’s reporter Paula Hancocks said Saturday’s uprising was “not expected to be big,” however, it turned out to be a massive rally with one simple message: President Park Geun-hye should voluntarily resign.

She said that despite President Park’s second apology, public frustration lingers since “they feel they have been lied to and that their president has not told them the truth.”

Public frustration and disillusion with this government have grown over the past few years, due partly to a number of scandals including the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014 when “collusion (among government officials) was partly a cause for lack of measures to save more people,” she added.

Japan’s Asahi News Network said that Saturday’s protest came from frustration toward the Park administration.

China’s government-run Xinhua News Agency said that Park has already lost trust and authority here.

News agency AP reported that “there is also a possibility that prosecutors will eventually investigate Park, who in a televised apology last week said she would accept a direct investigation into her actions.”

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)