|
A candlelit rally held in Gwanghwamun touched off a wave of similar gatherings across the nation in the wake of the nation's first-ever impeachment motion was passed by the National Assembly.
About 500 civic groups, including the People¡¯s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Green Korea United, and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions formed a "Pan-national movement to expose political wrongdoings and to nullify the impeachment bill." They announced that they would hold gatherings in the streets of Gwanghwamun at 7:00 p.m. every day for a candlelit protest until the impeachment bill is revoked.
 |
Gwanghwamun is crowded with citizens protesting the impeachment of President Roh as police forces stand at the ready for demonstrations on Saturday night./Yonhap
|
 |
|
On Saturday evening, police said that about 50,000 citizens gathered in Seoul Gwanghwamun and Jongno il-ga area for a candlelit rally denouncing the impeachment bill approved by the National Assembly. The civic groups insisted in their declaration that, ¡°Lawmakers cannot get rid of the president chosen by the people without the peoples¡¯ consent just because they take the majority seat at the National Assembly. This is an outrage committed by the outdated political powers.¡± The civic groups also demanded that the Constitutional Court of Korea promptly nullify the impeachment bill.
Several pro-Roh civic groups including "Nosamo," ¡°People¡¯s Power,¡± and ¡°Don¡¯t Threaten the People¡± sent text messages and posted announcements on their websites encouraging citizens to participate in the protests.
Mass protests denouncing the impeachment were also held nationwide. In Busan, about 100 civic groups and citizens, including 15,000 college students, rallied in front of Taehwa Department Store on Saturday evening, and on the same day in Gwangju, 1,000 student union and civic group members staged a demonstration against the impeachment.
On the contrary, anti-Roh civic groups composed of 30 organizations including the ¡°Honest Choice, Peoples¡¯ Action,¡± North Korea Nuclear Stop (nknstop), and the Free Citizens¡¯ Alliance of Korea held a press conference on Saturday and said that the impeachment vote would open a new chapter of Korea¡¯s democracy. They also said that President Roh Moo-hyun must resign from office for national security and development.
(Chae Sung-jin, dudmie@chosun.com )
|
