I agree with this article that for the younger generation of Koreans the influence peddling scandal is to be expected, but the cheating to get Choi Soon-sil’s daughter into Ewha Women’s University is what really infuriates them:
A rigorously meritocratic education system lies at the heart of South Korea’s stellar rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The system is highly competitive and can take a distressing toll on young students who devote their teenage years to studying for the national college entrance exam.
Admission to one of a handful of elite universities — such as Ewha — is seen as vital to a student’s future prosperity, social standing and even marriage prospects.
But however cut-throat it might be, there is steadfast public faith and trust in the exam’s fairness, with every applicant sitting the same paper on the same day, and a formalised marking system.
That faith is summed up in a term popular for decades, “a dragon from a ditch” — a person of modest means who rose to success through education and hard work. (………..)
“But Chung and Choi shattered this faith and hope spectacularly,” it said.
Park’s presidency has coincided with growing disquiet over a widening disparity in incomes and opportunities — an inequality now embodied in the public mind by Choi and her daughter.
In a now-infamous Facebook posting in 2014, Chung flaunted her privilege, saying: “Money is part of your talent. If you don’t have talent, blame your parents.”
The depth of anger over Chung’s admission to Ewha has been illustrated by the large number of high-school students who have taken part in weekly mass demonstrations that have seen millions march through the streets of Seoul and other cities.
“I was so angry about Chung and couldn’t even sleep when I first heard about her scandal,” said Jenny Park, a 16-year-old high school student.
“What’s the point of studying night and day when the rich and powerful can rig the whole system so easily?” she said, waving a banner reading “We didn’t study hard for this.” [AFP]
You can read more at the link, but like I said before I seriously doubt Choi Soon-sil is the only rich and connected person to get their kids into major universities in Korea through improper means.
Many foreigners do not seem to realize this, but attending protest rallies is actually illegal in Korea:
Foreigners participating in the protests against President Park Geun-hye may carry legal complications ― theoretically.
“As legal counsel I would say not to go to the rallies, as there are some articles in law that in principle prohibit foreigners from attending rallies,” said Nam Won-chul, a lawyer with Hwang Mok Park law firm.
According to the Immigration Control Act, “No foreigner sojourning in the Republic of Korea shall engage in any political activity with the exception of cases provided by this Act or other statutes.” The act empowers the Ministry of Justice to order a violator “in writing to suspend such activity” or “take other necessary measures.”
This may include deportation or a ban on visa renewal, according to one source familiar with the matter.
The law applies to all foreigners regardless of visa type, Nam says. “According to the text of the article, I think all foreigners are uniformly prohibited from political activities.” [Korea Times]
Not a single protester jailed or officer harmed in weeks of mass rally. Lawmaker @bdmin1958 says Koreans deserve Nobel peace prize candidacy pic.twitter.com/oAyOQ4LBFm
This really shows how fed up the Korean people are with President Park that the Korean left was able to get far more people to this weekend’s rally than what they were able to get to attend the anti-US beef protests in 2008:
Protesters stage a candlelight rally on a thoroughfare in downtown Seoul on Nov. 12, 2016, as they take part in an anti-government rally to demand President Park Geun-hye resign over an influence-peddling scandal implicating her longtime close friend Choi Soon-sil. In the background is Mount Bukak, at the foot of which the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is located. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Seoul on Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, in numbers not seen in decades, for the latest massive rally to demand President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over the growing scandal involving her confidante.
Over 1 million people joined the candlelight rally at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul as of 7:30 p.m., according to organizers. Police said 260,000 people gathered, which surpasses the 170,000 they had originally expected.
It is the largest rally to be held in South Korea this century to date, comparable to one that took place in 1987. Over 1 million Koreans took the streets at that time, leading the then Chun Doo-hwan military regime to accept their calls to adopt a direct presidential election system.
The previous record was set in June 2008 when 80,000 people, based on police calculations, turned out for a rally in Seoul against the government decision to resume U.S. beef imports. Organizers then put the number at 700,000.
Police said they deployed some 25,000 officers in riot gear on Saturday to prevent potential violence.
Major streets near Gwanghwamun were packed with citizens — men and women, young and old — holding banners that said “Step down Park Geun-hye!” and chanting slogans against the current administration.
Three opposition parties joined the rally, along with some potential presidential hopefuls, including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of the Democratic Party. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but it appears that Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is the one on the Korean left trying to best position himself as their standard bearer if Park does in fact resign.
A left wing rally in the Philippines outside the US embassy has turned violent:
A Philippine police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-U.S. rally turned violent Wednesday at the American embassy in Manila.
At least three student activists had to be taken to a hospital after they were run over by the van driven by a police officer, protest leader Renato Reyes said.
AP Television footage showed the van repeatedly ramming the protesters as it drove wildly back and forth after protesters had surrounded and started hitting the van with wooden batons they had seized from the police.
Police later arrested 23 protesters, who broke into a line of riot police and hurled red paint at the policemen and a U.S. government seal at the seaside embassy.
“There was absolutely no justification for it,” Reyes said of the violent police dispersal of about 1,000 protesters. “Even as the president vowed an independent foreign policy, Philippine police forces still act as running dogs of the U.S.”
The violence happened as the protesters gathered to demand an end to the presence of U.S. troops in the country and to support a call by President Rodrigo Duterte for a foreign policy not dependent on the U.S., the country’s longtime treaty ally.
Duterte was on a state visit to China, where he is seeking to repair relations strained under his predecessor over territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. Duterte is also seeking to expand two-way trade and investments and seek financing for badly needed infrastructure projects. [Associated Press]
According to ABC News this who the protesters were:
The protesters, consisting of students, workers and tribespeople, were demanding an end to the presence of visiting U.S. troops in the Philippines and to support a call by President Rodrigo Duterte for a foreign policy not dependent on the U.S., the country’s longtime treaty ally.
The activists came from the largest left-wing umbrella group called Bayan (Nation), which has organized regular anti-U.S. protests in front of the embassy for decades, most of which are peaceful. [ABC News]
The left wing protesters also claim that they don’t want to be dictated to by China:
Amid an uneasy relationship with the U.S., Duterte has tried to reach out to China and Russia, bringing uncertainty to his country’s long alliance with America.
But the protesters also opposed the president’s effort to lean toward China. “The Philippines will not be dictated on, whether by the U.S. or China,” they said in a statement.
These people obviously live in a fantasy world. What has the US supposedly “dictated” to them? The nearly $200 million in aid dollars or the immediate disaster response relief the US has given the Philippines in the past?
Who is currently dictating to them is the Chinese who are forcibly seizing actual territory from the Philippines. I find it interesting that this group of left wing protesters could not find the time to go and violently protest the seizing of Filipino territory in front of the Chinese embassy.
Won Buddhism believers hold a rally in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Sept. 30, 2016, to protest a ministry decision to pick a golf course in the southeastern county of Seongju as the “final” site for an advanced U.S. missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). The golf course is about 500 meters away from the religion’s sacred ground. (Yonhap)
It looks like the student protesters won their argument to keep Ewha University as an elitist institution plus they will face no punishment for detaining professors for 46 hours. Despite this they are still not happy:
Ewha Womans University President Choi Kyung-hee has filed a petition calling on authorities not to punish students who blocked four professors and a school worker from leaving a school building for 46 hours during a sit-in protest against the school’s plan to set up a night college for workers.
Choi visited Seodaemun Police Station in central Seoul Friday morning to submit the petition, which read that the professors and the worker do not want the students to face action.
Hundreds of Ewha students began the sit-in on July 28 and prevented the five people from leaving. School officials asked police to intervene and some 1,600 officers were mobilized to remove the protesters on July 30.
Police are identifying the students by reviewing video footage. A police officer said, “The petition will not affect the ongoing investigation. It may affect the level of punishment if they are indicted, but it’s up to the court.”
Following the protest, Choi said the school would scrap the night college plan. But students are still staging the sit-in, demanding Choi’s resignation. [Korea Times]
Here is the latest on the THAAD protesting front. Only getting 2,000 protesters in Seoul to include people that were bused in from Seongju is not very impressive. This is not a good sign for the Korean left if they think the anti-THAAD issue is something that can evolve into another 2008 US beef crisis:
About 2,000 people rallied outside the main train station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 21, 2016. Wearing yellow capes and waving banners that said “No THAAD,” they called on the government to reverse its decision to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in Seongju. KIM GAMEL/STARS AND STRIPES
Protesters, especially residents of the farming region of Seongju, fear the system’s powerful radar will be harmful to their health as well as the environment and the economy despite insistence by U.S. and South Korean officials that it is safe. Many also accuse the government of a lack of transparency in making the decision.
About 2,000 people, including many bused in from Seongju, rallied outside the main train station in the capital, Seoul, on Thursday. Wearing yellow capes and waving banners that said “No THAAD,” they called on the government to reverse its decision. Many protesters refused to talk to the media.
A small group of THAAD supporters gathered nearby. “This is very important for the national security,” said Jaechul Ahn, chairman of the World Peace Freedom United group. “We should know that North Korea never changes their goal of the colonization of the whole peninsula.” [Stars & Stripes]
