2000's
The Yangju highway incident
Background
A large candlelight rally was held in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, in memory of two female students who were run over and killed by a U.S. armored vehicle in 2002. The candlelight vigil was initiated by a user with the ID "Angma" on the bulletin board of Ohmy News on November 28, 2002. The rally later turned into an anti-American rally when the assailant, the U.S. military, was found not guilty. [11]
Demonstrations
On November 20, 2002, the U.S. military court made its first verdict of not guilty for the soldiers involved in the incident, triggering the re-emergence of images of the girls' crushed bodies being spread online after initially having been taken down out of respect of their deaths. [12] News of this incident and the outcome of the trial was circulated through a TV documentary, which amassed an online community that viewed this incident as a "National Tragedy", resulting in nationwide candlelight vigils being held at the suggestion of a netizen in an internet cafe to collectively mourn the death of the girls. [12] [13] On November 30, about 30,000 Koreans gathered in Gwanghwamun for the first mass candlelight vigil to commemorate the girls and protest their injustice death as people sang the national anthem and voiced their demands. [14] The mishandling of this case by the U.S. and the Korean government mobilized the vigils to gain momentum as they began to be held every weekend from November 2002 up until late January 2003. [12] Following the protests, on November 27, President Bush issued a statement of apology through an American ambassador, but it was met with discontent from netizens as they sought for a direct apology from the president and for the soldiers involved in the incident to be held accountable for their roles in the incident. [15]
Following these events, the protesters had three demands they attempted to achieve, which outlined the following:
- that the jurisdiction of the case be handed over to the South Korean court,
- that an amendment should be made onto The Status of Forces Agreement [ permanent dead link ] to eliminate the autonomy U.S. servicemen have in evading the South Korean government and punishment, and
- that President Bush, issues a statement of apology for the death of the middle school girls. [16]
Some Korean media sources labeled the vigils, that continued to take place, as "anti-Americanist", [17] while others viewed them as a platform for self-expression for the younger generation. [12] On December 7, the netizens who were participating in one of the 43 city-wide candlelight protests in Gwanghwamun broke through the police blockade and made their way to the U.S. embassy where they persistently tried to persuade them to apologize and seek appropriate justice. [14] The last mass vigil took place on December 14, with about 100,000 people from over 60 cities and 15 countries gathering at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Revisions were made to The Status of Forces Agreement [ permanent dead link ] as a result of these demonstrations. [18]
Since the incident, candlelight vigils have become a staple protest culture in South Korea. [19]
The protest against the Roh Moo-hyun president's impeachment
Background
On a national televised news conference in 2004, President Roh displayed no remorse over his brother's bribery scandal and instead, blamed the construction company executive involved for exploiting a "lesser educated man". [20] The following day, Roh also expressed his support for the Uri party and refused to publicly apologize, defiantly going against the parliament's demand for one, which caused the last traces of parliament support for Roh to cease. [20] On March 12, members of the conservative oppositional party impeached Roh on the grounds of him violating "political neutrality" when he asked the nation to support the newly established Uri party for the April 15 elections. [21] [20] [22] The National Assembly stripped Roh from his role as the head of state and chief commander soon after the voting session had ended, with Prime Minister Goh Kun stepping up as the interim President of South Korea. [23] Despite Prime Minister Goh's assurance to the public that he would maintain Roh's policies with North Korea and the United States as well as protect South Korea's economy from going into chaos, Roh's supporters met the news of impeachment with hostility, rage, and as an embarrassment to their country due to Roh being the first democratically elected leader to be impeached. [24] [20]
Demonstrations
Roh Moo-hyun was a president who wanted to fight authoritarianism and regionalism as president. His capital relocation plan and the announcement of a grand coalition have been altered and criticized, and his stagnant economic growth has also led to the worst approval rating ever for a president of 5 percent. And he became the first president to be impeached in the history of the Republic of Korea's constitutional history for violating the election law with calls for support of the Uri Party. But the anger is not people, Roh MMoo-hyun. Many citizens gathered at the National Assembly and poured into the streets shouting "impeachment" for the impeached president, holding candles. Candles filled the streets from Gwanghwamun in Seoul to the Daehanmun Gate in Deoksugung Palace, and such rallies continued throughout the country until the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment motion. [25] [26]
The gang rape of a middle school girl in Miryang
In 2004, a rape case occurred in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province. Forty-four high school students in Miryang lured a victim from Ulsan to an online chat and raped her for a year. [27]
A candlelight rally was gathered by the internet masses who were angry at the incident. On the 11th, at 7 pm, in front of Kyobo Book Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and Lotte Department Store in Seomyeon, Busan, voices condemned the victims of the "Mild Middle School Girl's Sexual Assault" case and the police's insufficient investigation. [28]
Beginning on the 10th, internet users proposed to hold a candlelight protest under the motto of urging the police for thorough investigation, strengthening punishment for sexual assaults, and improving the social atmosphere for victims of sexual assault. Accordingly, the people gathered at the candlelight protests voluntarily, held free speeches and picket protests. They were known as voluntary gatherers through internet communities such as DC Inside and Funny University (a name of web communities). [29]
Opposition to U.S. Beef Imports
Background
Candlelight vigils protesting U.S. beef imports were different from before. A group of teenage girls, named Candlelight Girls, gathered in Cheonggye Plaza on May 2, 2008, to hold candles on the outcome of the negotiations, which included more than 30 months of beef imports and a ban on imports of mad cow disease in the United States. The protests, sparked by middle and high school students spread across the country for more than 100 days, with a couple millions participating, including food-conscious housewives. Spontaneous demonstrations spread widely through the internet and cell phone network finally made Lee Myung-bak drew the president of the apology. [30]
The rally was called the Candlelight Cultural Festival, which was held in the form of a cultural festival in order to avoid violating the provisions of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration, which prohibits outdoor rallies or demonstrations after sunset. The biggest feature is that unlike before, voluntary individuals without the so-called "leading forces," or middle and high school students, and college students, office workers, and strollers, participated in the event to express their opinions nonviolently. [31]
Demonstrations
On May 2, 2008, the streets of Seoul were filled with hundreds of secondary and college students that orchestrated a candlelight vigil via text messages and the internet in protest of the agreement. [32] Thereafter, the candlelight protests became a daily occurrence, with 100,000 people gathering to rally against the agreement and calling for the impeachment of President Lee, which had garnered 1.2 million signatures online on May 6. [33] [32] On May 22, the Korean government announced that they would attempt to exclude certain parts of U.S. beef that may be more receptive to mad cow disease as the President offered an apology for disregarding the public's health concerns, but this did not quell their grievances. [34] [33] Protests erupted in Busan, Chuncheon, Daegu, and Gwangju, with the end of May ushering 211 arrests on protestors for displaying political slogans and signs that the Korean government had warned against utilizing. [32] During the third week of June, President Lee's cabinet stepped down from their position due to the enormous pressure they received from the protestors. [32] On June 25, another agreement was discussed wherein President Lee lifted the ban on U.S. beef from cattle that were less than 30 months old. [32] In response, a protest was organized by the People's Association Against Mad Cow Disease, leading to 91 arrests. [32] Other protesters attempted to make their way to the president's office but were detained by police. [32] On June 30, a wave of a new march was headed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) with hundreds of its members coming out to protest. [32] The candlelight protests lasted from May 2008 until August 2008 and is remembered as a mass movement that emerged from the South Korean government's failure to hold the trust of the people. [35]
