[FROM THE SCENE] Rallies intensify over THAAD deployment

Massive rival rallies were held in rainy Seoul on Tuesday by proponents and opponents of a US-led anti-missile system’s deployment here.

Thousands of protesters packed the streets near Seoul City Hall in a rally that started at 3:30 p.m., calling on the Moon administration to scrap the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

“The deployment of THAAD should be pulled back as it is of no use to defend South Korea,” one of the rally organizers said on a podium at the square amid the heavy rain.

“The US has recently increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, voicing out threats of military action (against North Korea), but no one has the right to take military action here, and the threats must stop now,” the organizer told the crowd.

They also demanded the abolishment of South Korea’s “final and irreversible” agreement with Japan, inked in 2015 under the previous Park Geun-hye administration, over the World War II sex slavery issue, under which Tokyo did not accept formal legal responsibility but offered money and an apology for former Korean sex slaves.

Later in the afternoon, the crowd started marching toward the US Embassy, chanting phrases such as “No THAAD deployment” and “Stop joint military training exercises,” referring to those between South Korea and the US. The march continued until they tried to surround the embassy building, only to be blocked by riot police.

The rally’s organizer estimated the number of participants to be over 10,000.

“It is my first time out here to make my voice heard, and I believe the deployment of THAAD is only for the sake of strategic security interests for the US, and we must stop the deployment before it triggers another war on the peninsula,” said Han Min-woo, 37, who participated in the rally.

Lim Kyung-sook, a 34-year-old mother of two, expressed fear that the anti-missile system would pose harm to nearby residents’ health and agriculture, despite the government’s announcement last week that there would be no such harm.

“I live in Seoul, but I think the government should listen to the voices of local residents living near there, who are constantly exposed to worries of potential side effects to their health due to electromagnetic waves. More health and environmental surveys should be conducted for public safety,” Lim said.

On the same day, rival protests were held separately just a few kilometers away, urging the Moon Jae-in administration to quickly roll out the US missile shield due to escalating military threats from North Korea. Demonstrators there carried Korean flags and marched to Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.

Slogans chanted during their rallies included “No Moon Jae-in,” “Strike Kim Jong-un to death,” and “Release Park Geun-hye.” Park is the former president who was stripped of power last year over a corruption scandal.

Park Nam-seok, 69, who voiced his support for the deployment, called the THAAD opponents “North Korean sympathizers.”

“It is my patriotism to protect our nation that brought me here today. Their lax attitude toward the immediate threats from (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un can destroy us all,” Park said.

About 6,500 riot police were mobilized Tuesday, setting up barricades with buses at the center of the capital to separate the two opposing rallies.

Tuesday’s rallies came after the government concluded last week that electromagnetic waves and noise emanating from the THAAD battery site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, are not harmful to local residents, following an environmental assessment conducted by the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Environment. Currently, two launchers and a radar are operational at the site, while the remaining four launchers are being stored at a US base here, awaiting deployment. A typical THAAD battery consists of six launchers.

President Moon, who earlier suspended the deployment of four launchers, ordered their early rollout after the North test-fired intercontinental ballistic missiles and intensified military threats.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)