Tension Rises Ahead of Progressive and Conservative Group Rallies in Downtown Seoul This Weekend... Police Deliberate Preventive Measures

On the 10th, members of conservative groups including the Liberty Unification Party led by Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon are holding the "Ten Million Signature National Rally for Free Unification" around Sejong-daero, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Over the weekend, progressive and conservative groups will hold rallies in close proximity in downtown Seoul, and the police are working hard to prevent clashes.

According to the National Police Agency on the 21st, Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun announced that he will hold a rally countermeasure meeting at 4 p.m. that day to discuss safety accident prevention and traffic measures. This is the first time since his inauguration on August 10 that Commissioner Yoon has personally organized a meeting related to rally countermeasures.

This weekend, progressive and conservative groups will hold rallies at similar times and close distances. Progressive groups such as the Candlelight Transition Action plan to gather about 7,000 people around 4 p.m. on the 22nd near the Sungnyemun intersection and Taepyeong Ilchalo area to hold a "Rally Condemning the Yoon Seok-yeol Government." They also plan to march to the Samgakji Police Substation around 6:30 p.m. the same day.

Conservative groups, including the Liberty Unification Party led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, will also hold a "Freedom Unification Anti-Jusapa Rally" from 3 p.m. on the same day around Sejong-daero in Jongno-gu, Seoul. They reported that 30,000 people will attend the rally and plan to march along Sejong-daero from Donghwa Duty-Free Shop to Daehanmun.

The police are establishing safety measures to prevent clashes between these groups. The police plan to control the lower five lanes of Sejong-daero and allow only one lane in each direction of the central bus lane on Hangang-daero near the Samgakji intersection to remain open for traffic.

A police official stated, "We ask that people use public transportation as much as possible and avoid the above sections even if using vehicles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.