News / Koreas

Demos against S Korea’s labor policies enter 2nd day

Saturday, 25 April 2015 10:05 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 25 April 2015 10:06 AM ]

South Korean workers hold a mass rally against government labor policies in the capital city of Seoul, April 24, 2015. © AFP

Thousands of South Koreans have taken to the streets of the capital ,Seoul, for the second straight day of protest rallies against the conservative government’s labor policies.

People flocked into the streets in the capital city on Saturday to voice their anger President Park Geun-hye’s plans to revise the country’s public pension system.

Park Seong-shik, the spokesman for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), had said ahead of the event over 30,000 people are expected to attend afternoon demonstrations.

"We are out to prove that those who are now in power will be unable to keep it if they keep stomping on workers' rights," said KCTU President Han Sang-goon.

On April 24, thousands of anti-government protesters marched in several cities across South Korea. In the southeastern city of Daegu, police used water cannon against protesters, but there was no report of casualties.

Another large rally is also planned on Saturday evening, with unionized workers joining groups supporting the relatives of last year’s ferry tragedy victims.

A person holds yellow placards showing portraits of missing people from South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun square, April 22, 2015. © AFP

The passenger ship, Sewol, carrying 476 people sank off South Korea’s southern coast on April 16 2014, claiming the lives of 304 people on board, including 250 schoolchildren.

Prosecutors blamed the incident on a number of factors, including, crew members’ negligence, excessive cargo, improper storage and slow rescue efforts.

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