Thousands Protest Command Transfer

As many as 50,000 members of conservative groups gathered in front of the Seoul City Hall on September 2 at 2:00 p.m. They held an emergency gathering for South Korea and urged the government to postpone the transfer of wartime operational control and revision of the private school law.

Members of The Christian Council of Korea, Korea Veterans Association (KorVa), and 200 other conservative and Christian groups participated in the assembly. Also, some of the participants had confrontations with the police before the demonstration as they ripped and burned two flags.

In Seoul Plaza, there were banners which read, “The goal of the wartime transfer is the dissolution of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command,” and “Postpone the transfer of the wartime operation control and cement the relationship with the U.S.” Also, there was a huge ad-balloon with a message saying “Stop the redemption of the wartime control immediately.”

Some topside military figures such as Park Seh-jik, the president of the KorVa, Kim Seong-eun, Lee Sang-hun, former Ministers of Defense, Kim Sang-tae, former Air Force Chief of Staff, and Seo Kyung-suk, co-representative of a Christian group participated.

Also, many lawmakers and party leadership such as Park Geun-hye, former Chairperson of the Grand National Party (GNP), Lee Myong-bak, former Mayor of Seoul, Lee Sang-deuk, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, Kang Jae-sup, Chairman of the GNP, and Jeon Yeo-ok, GNP lawmaker, took part in the gathering.

The participants said, “The government should reconsider the wartime control transfer, which will destroy the national economy and threaten lives of Koreans. Also, the government should amend the private school law in order to respect the autonomy of private schools.

Park Geun-hye said, “I have participated in this gathering since it was held by those who are concerned of the nation’s future. I agree with them. Also, the transfer of the wartime control is not something that should be considered now. It undermines the effectiveness of military operations”

Eleven local chairmen of the KorVa shaved their heads. Also, GNP lawmakers including the former chairwoman Park shouted, “The government should stop reclaiming wartime control transfer.”

After the gathering that day, the participants staged a street parade from Seoul Plaza to the Bank of Korea while holding a giant national flag in front of them. The street parade ended at 5:40 p.m.