The sixteenth round of all-people candlelight rally

The sixteenth round of all-people candlelight rally

The 16th all-people action was launched across south Korea on Feb. 18 under the sponsorship of the emergency people's action for the resignation of the Park Geun-hye regime with more than 844 000 people of all strata involved.

In Seoul, more than eight hundred thousand people of every degree held a rally, urging the prompt resignation of Park Geun-hye and Hwang Kyo-ahn, expansion of special investigation and arrest of accomplices.

Thousands of Seoul citizens held a seminar for declaring the right to candlelight action at the Changchung Stadium before launching a rally.

The candlelight demonstrators are craving for basic and comprehensive change beyond the resignation of Park, the speakers said at the seminar and stressed to build a new society without abuse of power by declaring the right to candlelight.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the Gwanghwamun Plaza to start the candlelight rally.

The arrest of Lee Chae-young, vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. brought to light that Park Geun-hye is the very ringleader of bribery, they noted.

The people’s wish is impeachment and custody of Park and they should get united in order to realize their wish, they asserted.

At least 15 200 riot policemen were mobilized to repress the rally. The demonstrators marched toward the Blue House, the "Constitutional Court" and buildings of big business groups.

Many citizens formed an alliance with the demonstrators so that the number of participants increased into at least 800 000.

In front of the “Constitutional Court”, they strongly demanded early decision of impeachment on Park.

More than 23 000 citizens in Busan gathered at a venue of rally, while carrying candlelight in their hands and chanting slogans demanding Park’s impeachment within February.

The speakers, at the rally, declared to hold candlelight in the plaza for withdrawal of Park’s policy, removal of evils and realization of social reform.

In Daejeon, about 1 000 citizens held a rally, carrying slogan-boards written “Prompt resignation of Park” and “Custody of and investigation into Park”.

They said that the four-year of Park’s office was the periods of living hell for the people and pointed out to eliminate the 70-year-long evils through this opportunity.

Similar rallies took place in Gwangju and about 100 other places of south Korea.

The emergency people's action for the resignation of the Park Geun-hye regime decided to conduct an intensive action on Feb. 25 on the lapse of four years of Park’s presidency and on March 1, the anniversary of anti-Japanese popular resistance with great attendance of the people.