Give up, Park Geun-hye!
Give up, Park Geun-hye!
The third all-people action was launched on a large scale across south Korea on Nov. 12 to oust Park Geun-hye from office. Nearly 1.1 million people from all walks of life turned out in the action to demonstrate their will to bring Park Geun-hye to justice of history.
The participants from the trade unions under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, student and pupil groups, and religious bodies gathered at Seoul Square to hold the 2016 people's all-out rally. Speeches were made at the rally. They noted that Park is no more the president as she has been deserted by the people and added that they would continue action until she is withdrawn from her office, Students from one hundred universities said that they have stood in the van of epochal opportunity such as the April 19 revolution, the May 18 Gwangju popular uprising and the June resistance, adding that this time decides progress or retrogression of democracy. They said that we will punish those who are worse than dog and pig and Park should not make fun of the people any longer and get out of office.
The participants made public a declaration. It said that the essence of the "Park Geun-hye scandal" is a crystal of corruption and incompetence and the people's resentment is an expression of the will not to remain a passive onlooker to the abnormal society any longer. The people will oust Park from the presidency and make the future of people’s triumph, the declaration stressed. Then the participants, divided into five directions, started a citizens grand march along major roads to encircle Cheongwadae with slogan board reading "Park Geun-hye, resign" in their hands. The south Korean security authorities committed the largest-scale riot police to the venue of rally and its vicinity and set up fence of bus on the passage and the access road to Cheongwadae to repress them. Some of them shouldered a bier descriptive of Cheongwadae and raised a wail of sorrow.
The infuriated people’s candlelight frightened Park. Enraged at the police's whisking off demonstrators, the participants waged a fierce fight with the police. There took place a strike outside Chongwadae. Then the participants held a candlelight rally again.
They staged over-night strike, expressing their resentment at Park who plunged the people’s livelihood into an abyss of ruin. It has been recorded as the largest rally unprecedented in history as the rally was sponsored by 1 500 civic organizations. On the same day, actions of the people for punishing Park were held in Busan and across south Korea simultaneously. They demanded an impartial investigation of Choi Soon-sil Gate and stern punishment of those responsible for the scandal. On the same day, overseas Koreans held rallies in demand of Park’s resignation and dissolution of the Saenuri Party in 30 cities of ten countries including the US, Japan, the UK, Germany and France.
The 2016 Headquarters for People's All-out Action noted that Park should make an apology before the people and they will continue the action until Park accepts the people’s demand and stated that it would launch the fourth and fifth all-people action on Nov. 19 and 26. On Nov. 13, about ninety lawmakers of the Saenuri Party convened an emergency meeting at which they asserted the immediate resignation of Park and dissolution of the ruling party. Park, who has bent herself to traitorous politics, is on the verge of bankruptcy by the pent-up wrath of the people. |