South Korean activists vow to stage anti-government protest despite ban
South Korea’s major labor group has pledged to stage a planned anti-government protest this week, a day after officials banned the demonstration over security concerns.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a Sunday statement that the ban on the rally scheduled for next Saturday was “unconstitutional.”
“Such ban is an outright denial of constitutional rights... and was prevalent only during dictatorship,” the union said in a statement, referring to the 1960-70s era of military rule in South Korea under the country's late leader, Park Chung-hee, the father of incumbent President Park Geun-hye.
“Our plan to hold the rally remains unchanged,” the group said.
The protesters are calling on Seoul to scrap its labor reform plan, saying that it would make it easier for companies to fire employees. They are also calling on the administration to cancel a contentious scheme to impose state-issued history textbooks at schools, denouncing the move as an attempt to whitewash the dictatorship.
The planned protest follows a massive demonstration earlier this month, where security forces clashed with protesters, injuring dozens of them with water cannons and pepper spray.
The November 14 protest, the largest in over seven years, was attended by more than 60,000 people.
President Park denounced the rally as a bid to “deny the rule of law,” urging heavy-handed crackdown against those identified as provoking violence.
Park also demanded that a ban be enforced on wearing masks during rallies, likening masked protesters to the Takfiri Daesh terrorists, a comparison that prompted angry reactions from the protesters.
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