December 24, 2024
Seoul – Over the weekend, nationwide demonstrations against President Yoon Seok-yeol gained an unusual ally, as farmers from across the country driving about 30 tractors joined protesters in Seoul after a grueling two-day march to the presidential palace. ranks.
That march included an overnight standoff with police who blocked their road to Seoul, during which civil society groups and other protesters gathered in support of the farmers.
An alliance of farmers' groups, which calls itself the “Jeon Bong-joon Protest Group” after a 19th-century farmer who led an armed rebellion against corrupt officials, held a protest Sunday near Mr. Yoon's office in Yongsan District, Seoul.
They held a demonstration across three lanes in front of Han Changjin Station. The police estimated that there were about 3,000 participants and 10,000 demonstrators.
“We have brought the tractor to Yoon Seok-yeol's feet. … This victory was possible thanks to the all-night protest,” said Lee Chun-seon, leader of the Korean Women Farmers Association, who participated in the march.
Ha Won-oh, leader of the Korean Farmers Union, thanked people for standing with them during a standoff with police in southern Seoul that lasted overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
Farmers from multiple agricultural groups brought about 30 tractors and 50 trucks from rural areas in Jeollanam Province and Gyeongsangnam Province to start the march on December 16. They gathered in front of the Sejong City Hall building on Thursday and planned to join an anti-Yin protest in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on Saturday.
However, the police blocked vehicles near the Namtaeryeong Checkpoint in Seocho-gu, Seoul around noon on Saturday, citing concerns about the inconvenience the traffic jam would cause to citizens. This led to a 28-hour standoff between police and farmers, joined by civil society groups demanding police clear the way for tractor protesters.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency informed farmers on Friday that they cannot use tractors and trucks at protests in Seoul, something police also did during the 2016 impeachment protests against then-President Park Geun-hye.
Farmer groups have been protesting the Yoon administration's continued veto of changes to the Grain Management Act, which Act President Han Deok-soo vetoed last week. The legal revision will lower the threshold for government intervention to support rice prices.
An unconfirmed number of citizens were hospitalized with medical conditions including hypothermia, and two were taken away by police for obstructing official duties.
The night-long protest was broadcast across the country through various social media accounts and YouTube users. A demonstration followed on Sunday at 2 p.m., with participants – estimated to range from 4,000 (according to police) to 30,000 (protesters) – joining the opposition to Yin.
Police finally ended the blockade around 4:40 p.m., before 13 tractors arrived to join the protest against the president. The tractor arrived at the scene around 6:45 p.m.
President Yoon is under investigation and faces an impeachment trial on charges of rebellion and abuse of power for declaring martial law on December 3.
