'Get Out, America' vs. 'Yoon Again': Rival rallies mark Liberation Day in Seoul

Participants perform at the main rally of the Aug. 15 Independence and Peace March near Sungnyemun in Seoul on Saturday. [Yonhap]

Progressive and conservative groups each held large-scale rallies in central Seoul on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day.

The 2026 Aug. 15 Independence and Peace March Organizing Committee — a coalition that includes the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) — held its march at Gwanghwamun at 2:30 p.m.

KCTU Chairman Yang Gyeong-su said Donald Trump's "rampage of using tariffs as a weapon to coerce investment and plunder" remains ongoing, and called for strengthening "today's struggle against the United States and against imperialist wars of aggression."

Participants wore blue short-sleeved T-shirts reading "Get Out, America" and wide-brimmed hats bearing the slogan "Anti-US Sovereignty." They chanted slogans including "Stop US economic exploitation and interference in our internal affairs" as they marched past Bosingak, Euljiro Entrance and Seoul Plaza before reaching Sungnyemun.

At the main rally in front of Sungnyemun, organizers adopted a resolution pledging to "realize sovereignty, peace and historical justice, transcending division, war and confrontation" on the 81st anniversary of liberation, and to "block US economic plunder carried out under the pretext of tariffs and investment and restore people's livelihoods."

Police estimated the crowd at about 5,000.

The National Movement Headquarters to Rebuild the Republic of Korea, led by Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon, held its own "Aug. 15 Gwanghwamun Revolution National Rally" in front of the Dongwha duty-free store near Gwanghwamun Station.

Police estimated the crowd at about 30,000. Attendees waved South Korean and American flags and held signs reading "Detain the National Election Commission" and "Rigged election, manipulated election," chanting slogans including "Detain Lee Jae Myung" and "Yoon Again."

Pastor Jeon himself took the stage toward the end of the rally.

Moss Tan — a Korean American formerly known as Dan Hyeon-myeong who taught at Liberty University in the United States and has been indicted on charges of defaming President Lee Jae Myung and barred from leaving the country — also addressed the crowd. "Because you already have the ability to read numbers and read ballots, you don't need the National Election Commission," he said. "We can hold elections on our own."

The large rallies on the first day of the Liberation Day holiday prompted police to close sections of Sejong-daero, causing traffic congestion across central Seoul. Authorities deployed more than 200 traffic officers to manage the disruption and direct vehicles to alternate routes.

jiyun@heraldcorp.com