Clashes Across City Centers on Gwangbokjeol... Shouting, Struggles, and Assaults on Police Officers

Conservative Group Members Persist with Protests Across City on Gwangbokjeol
Clashes Continue from Previous Day... Some Arrested for Assaulting Police

On August 15th, Liberation Day, police are inspecting citizens in front of fences installed to control urban gatherings at Seoul Station Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] On August 15, Liberation Day, protests by conservative groups continued across downtown Seoul, resulting in numerous clashes of varying scale.

The People’s Revolutionary Party, led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church, held a press conference around 4 p.m. in front of the jewelry market at Jongno 4-ga, stating, "From now on, we will conduct a voluntary one-person walking campaign for the impeachment of Moon Jae-in every Saturday with 10 million participants," and added, "We have documented all unconstitutional and human rights-violating acts by the police that suppressed the people's physical and movement freedoms, and we will distribute complaint letters and evidence to the international community."

Originally, they planned to hold the press conference around 3 p.m. in front of Donghwa Duty-Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul, but moved the location due to police intervention. The People’s Revolutionary Party also held a membership recruitment event on the street. The initially announced "Moon Jae-in Impeachment 8.15 10 Million One-Person Walking Campaign" continued, but large crowds did not gather as the police controlled the scene.

The Nara Jikimi High School Union also held a press conference in front of Jongmyo Park in the morning, continuing their criticism of the government. One-person protests took place in Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu and around Jongno as well. Without chanting slogans, they walked the streets holding placards claiming election fraud on April 15 and calling for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in, along with Taegeukgi and the U.S. flag.

There were also multiple clashes between citizens and police throughout the day. Around 2 p.m., the Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul arrested a man in his 60s on the spot for assaulting a police officer who was preventing the installation of a banner in front of a hotel in Jung-gu, charging him with obstruction of official duties. At around 4:40 p.m. the same day, another man was taken into custody by police for assaulting an officer in front of the Yuk-ui-jeon Building in Jongno 2-ga.

The previous day, a man in his 50s was arrested in front of a hotel near Gwanghwamun for threatening and assaulting police officers with a safety fence. The Namdaemun Police Station applied charges of special obstruction of official duties and requested an arrest warrant for the man.

Earlier, the police announced a strong stance to respond firmly to any illegal acts during the Liberation Day holiday protests, including on-the-spot arrests. They also warned that the leadership of the protest groups would be prosecuted to the fullest extent. From the previous day, fences and vehicle barriers were installed around Gwanghwamun to block gatherings. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency deployed up to 186 units and available equipment, operating temporary checkpoints at 81 locations including city entrances, Han River bridges, and downtown areas since the day before.

The Seoul Metro temporarily closed some entrances of stations near Gwanghwamun on the day and allowed trains to pass without stopping at four stations including Gwanghwamun Station, City Hall Station (Lines 1 and 2), and Gyeongbokgung Station for a period in the afternoon. Some bus routes were also temporarily rerouted.