Korea parties spar after PPP rally; organizers claim 200,000, police say 10,000
Version 2: New coverage adds the first crowd figures for the rally — organisers estimated about 200,000 participants against a police estimate of about 10,000 — along with the roughly 70 sitting lawmakers who attended and the fact that it was the party's first large outdoor rally in about a year.
In short
The People Power Party held a large outdoor rally in the Sungnyemun area of central Seoul on Oct. 3, National Foundation Day, under the banner of judging the Lee Jae-myung government and restoring livelihoods and security. The party estimated about 200,000 people attended, including some 70 sitting lawmakers, while police estimated about 10,000, according to Seoul Economic Daily. The Democratic Party called it a show of force by PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk, and the two sides traded further criticism on Oct. 4.
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The People Power Party held a large outdoor rally in the Sungnyemun area of central Seoul on Oct. 3, National Foundation Day, under the title “National Action Rally to Judge the Lee Jae-myung Government, Restore Livelihoods and Defend Security,” according to Yonhap, SBS News and Seoul Economic Daily. SBS News said the party argued “judicial destruction and a security catastrophe” as it raised the level of its offensive against the government. Seoul Economic Daily and Korea Economic Daily reported it was the party's first large outdoor rally in central Seoul in about a year, since a rally at Daehanmun in September last year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 ]
Seoul Economic Daily reported that the party estimated about 200,000 people attended, including some 70 sitting lawmakers, while police estimated about 10,000. Korea Economic Daily also carried the organisers' estimate of 200,000. No other document gives a figure. [ 7 , 9 ]
The Democratic Party criticised the rally in written briefings. Floor spokesperson Chun Eun-soo called it “a show of force by People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk,” said the party had ordered members to report their attendance and had allocated quotas, and added that such a rally cannot be said to represent the public's voice, SBS News and Asia Economy reported. Spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said the rally was “filled with extreme slogans,” including calls to bring down President Lee Jae-myung and to remove him from the presidential office. The Democratic Party also said the main opposition had gone into the streets just before the National Assembly audit instead of preparing for it. [ 1 , 2 ]
The two sides continued to spar the next day. Democratic Party senior spokesperson Park Sung-joon said Jang Dong-hyuk's politics amounted to “beating drums and shouting” and asked whether he had “habitual outdoor-rally syndrome,” according to Dong-A Ilbo and Yonhap. The People Power Party responded that the rally had been a stern warning that it would not tolerate what it called the Lee Jae-myung government's and the large ruling party's legislative rampage, which it said had abandoned national security, trampled judicial order and pushed livelihoods into hardship. [ 4 , 6 , 10 ]
Yonhap and SBS News reported that the People Power Party was stepping up its attacks on President Lee Jae-myung across security, economy and judicial policy ahead of the National Assembly audit. Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk wrote on Facebook that the president had “begged North Korea for peace” even on Armed Forces Day, and said North Korea had mocked the government's response and answered with a missile. Floor leader Chung Jeom-sik said the rally had shown the public's anger at a government he said was destroying the economy, public safety and security, and urged the president to stop using social media and instead listen to public opinion, Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily and Korea Economic Daily reported. [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
Other party figures pressed the government on security, financial safety and farming. Senior spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon held the president responsible for a security situation in which, she said, North Korea holds the initiative, and for what she described as a policing gap after the prosecution service closed for the first time in 78 years and lost supplementary investigation powers; the party also raised the possibility of North Korean involvement in a series of bank hacking incidents, with Choi saying the protection of citizens' money and information is the most basic security. Five-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won called the government's nationwide farmland survey “neo-tenant farming” and “state violence” against farmers' property, and senior floor spokesperson Choi Eun-seok called for the dissolution of the Prosecution Future Committee and for the president's own criminal trial to resume. [ 5 , 7 ]
Why it matters
The rally and the exchange that followed come as the National Assembly audit approaches, and the People Power Party has opened an offensive against President Lee Jae-myung across security, economic and judicial issues. The documents present the confrontation as a contest over political initiative in the run-up to the audit, with both parties using the rally to mobilise supporters and set the terms of the coming session.
Key facts
- The People Power Party held a large rally on Oct. 3, National Foundation Day, in the Sungnyemun area of central Seoul. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- The rally was titled “National Action Rally to Judge the Lee Jae-myung Government, Restore Livelihoods and Defend Security.” [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reported the party estimated about 200,000 people attended, including some 70 sitting lawmakers, while police estimated about 10,000; Korea Economic Daily also carried the organisers' estimate of 200,000. [ 7 , 9 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily and Korea Economic Daily reported it was the party's first large outdoor rally in central Seoul in about a year, since a rally at Daehanmun in September last year. [ 7 , 9 ]
- Democratic Party floor spokesperson Chun Eun-soo called the rally a show of force by PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Democratic Party spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said the rally was filled with extreme slogans, including calls to bring down President Lee Jae-myung. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Democratic Party senior spokesperson Park Sung-joon said Jang Dong-hyuk's politics amounted to “beating drums and shouting” and asked whether he had “habitual outdoor-rally syndrome.” [ 4 , 6 , 10 ]
- On Oct. 4, PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk wrote on Facebook that President Lee had “begged North Korea for peace” on Armed Forces Day and urged him to stop using social media and listen to public opinion. [ 5 , 7 , 9 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The People Power Party held a large rally in the Sungnyemun area of central Seoul on Oct. 3, National Foundation Day. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]
- The rally was titled the “National Action Rally to Judge the Lee Jae-myung Government, Restore Livelihoods and Defend Security.” [ 5 , 7 , 8 ]
- Democratic Party floor spokesperson Chun Eun-soo described the rally as a show of force by PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk and said the party had ordered members to report attendance and allocated quotas. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Democratic Party spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said the rally was filled with extreme slogans calling for President Lee Jae-myung to be brought down. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Democratic Party said the main opposition had taken to the streets just before the National Assembly audit instead of preparing for it. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The two parties continued to criticise each other over the rally on Oct. 4. [ 4 , 6 , 10 ]
- The People Power Party is escalating its attacks on President Lee Jae-myung across security, economic and judicial issues ahead of the National Assembly audit, according to Yonhap and SBS News. [ 5 , 8 ]
- PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk wrote on Facebook on Oct. 4 criticising President Lee's response to a North Korean missile provocation and urging him to stop using social media and listen to public opinion. [ 5 , 7 , 9 ]
Still unclear
- How many people attended the rally. The only figures in the documents conflict and come from Seoul Economic Daily and Korea Economic Daily: the organisers' estimate of about 200,000 against a police estimate of about 10,000.
- Whether the People Power Party issued a total mobilisation order and required members to report their attendance. The claim was made by Democratic Party floor spokesperson Chun Eun-soo in a written briefing, attributed to unnamed reports, and no other document confirms it.
- Whether the rally was filled with the slogans the Democratic Party quoted. The slogans are reported by the Democratic Party side only, and the documents do not carry a response from the People Power Party to that specific claim.
- How the president or the government responded to the rally and to the People Power Party's demands. None of the documents carries a reaction from the presidential office, the government or the ruling party to the Oct. 4 statements.
- The start time and duration of the rally. The documents give only the date, Oct. 3, and do not state when the rally began or ended.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- SBS News reports the Democratic Party's written briefing criticising the rally, quoting floor spokesperson Chun Eun-soo. [ 1 ]
- Asia Economy reports the same Democratic Party criticism of the rally. [ 2 ]
- SBS News reports that the People Power Party held a large rally in central Seoul and raised its offensive against the government. [ 3 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports the two parties sparring over the rally, including the Democratic Party's “habitual outdoor-rally syndrome” criticism and the PPP's response. [ 4 ]
- Yonhap reports the People Power Party escalating its attacks on President Lee Jae-myung across security, economic and judicial issues. [ 5 ]
- Yonhap reports the Democratic Party's criticism of the rally the previous day in Seoul. [ 6 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the party's estimate of about 200,000 participants and a police estimate of about 10,000, and that about 70 sitting lawmakers attended. [ 7 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports the party's first large outdoor rally in about a year and the organisers' estimate of 200,000 participants. [ 9 ]