"Let's Change the World, Not the Climate"…Large-Scale Climate Crisis Rally in Gangnam

Estimated 20,000 Participants from 611 Organizations
"Greater Climate Disaster Damage to Vulnerable Groups"

On the 7th, 611 civic and social organizations, including Climate Emergency Action and the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements, held a climate justice march under the slogan "Change the world, not the climate" around Sinnonhyeon Station to Gangnam Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

In their declaration, they emphasized, "There is no livelihood amid the dangerous rush that increases nuclear risks and greenhouse gases while raising electricity demand for economic growth," and urged, "Let us march together to change the world of climate disasters and inequality and to protect an equal and dignified life."

On the afternoon of the 7th, participants at the 'Climate Justice March' held around Gangnam-daero, Seoul, are shouting related slogans.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Jun-young, chairman of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, said, "Climate disasters such as heatwaves and heavy rains becoming everyday occurrences threaten workers' lives and jobs," and argued, "For a just transition, we must resolve social inequalities where vulnerable groups suffer greater damage, along with workers' job issues."

Yoon Hyun-jung, an activist from Youth Climate Action, stated, "(The Constitutional Court) said that the state's climate response must consider those who are more vulnerable to the crisis but cannot participate in the political process," adding, "Climate responses that erase the lives of people who will live through the crisis cannot prevent it. We have chosen to become agents of change ourselves."

Earlier, on the 29th of last month, the Constitutional Court ruled the unconstitutionality of Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality in a constitutional complaint filed by this organization along with youth, civic groups, and infants. The decision recognized that insufficient government climate crisis responses could lead to violations of citizens' fundamental rights, such as the right to a healthy environment.

According to the organizers, about 20,000 people participated in the rally, while police estimated 7,000 to 10,000. After the rally, participants marched along Teheran-ro to Samseong Station, staging a "die-in" protest by lying down motionless on the road.