About 10 rally near Hongik University Station calling for new vote

Members of a youth group hold pickets near Hongik University Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul, demanding a re-election. [Yonhap]
Members of a youth group hold pickets near Hongik University Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul, demanding a re-election. [Yonhap]

Young people in their 20s and 30s who had been staging a "Jamsil vote-counting center blockade protest" at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, have moved their demonstration to the area near Hongik University Station.

A conservative youth group called BOSS Hongdae held a "re-election demand rally" on the sidewalk between exits 8 and 9 of Hongik University Station that afternoon, according to Yonhap News Agency.

As of 4 p.m. that day, about 10 demonstrators were chanting slogans while holding South Korean flags and pickets reading "re-election." BOSS Hongdae said the group was calling for a re-election because some voters had been unable to cast ballots due to a shortage of ballots. "Elections are the flower of democracy. Please protect our suffrage," the group said. Some citizens nearby joined in the chants.

The Jamsil vote-counting center blockade protest was initially driven largely by people in their 20s and 30s. During the first weekend after it began, the crowd swelled to an estimated 30,000 at its peak, according to police. Now in its 16th day, however, the protest has shrunk to around 1,700 participants, with those aged 70 and older making up 70 to 80 percent of the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Movement Headquarters for Righting the Republic of Korea (Daegukbon), led by Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church, also held a rally at Gwanghwamun that day, alleging election fraud.


siuu@heraldcorp.com