Up to 2.3 million people took to the streets across the nation on Saturday in their sixth consecutive weekend rally, to demand the President Park Geun-hye‘s resignation over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal. If organizers’ figures are correct, the rally is the biggest in the nation’s history, estimated at more than double the size of that in June 1987, when about a million people poured onto the streets to fight for democracy.Some 1.7 million people gathered in central Seoul to deman

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2016

Around 1.6 million South Koreans rallied near the presidential office north of Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to demand the ouster of scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye on Saturday.  Here are some of the photos featuring one of the biggest, but most peaceful protests in the country.A protester wears a chicken costume to make fun of President Park while marching towards the presidential office. (Bak Se-hwan/The Korea Herald)At 3 p.m., protesters gather at Gwanghwamun Square before marchi

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2016

Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday in their sixth consecutive weekend rally to demand the President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal.As of 8 p.m. up to 1.5 million protesters, according to rally organizers, packed main boulevards connecting City Hall and Gwanghwamun Square to Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul for a candlelight vigil aimed at ramping up pressure on Park to immediately step down.Up to 900

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2016

Tens of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday in its sixth consecutive rally to demand the scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye’s resignation over an influence-peddling and corruption scandal. As of 4 p.m., up to 500,000 protestors packed main boulevards in central Seoul, according to rally organizers, and began to march toward the presidential office along three main routes to ramp up pressure on Park to step down.This is the sixth week of major protests aga

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2016

South Koreans are bombarding lawmakers of the ruling Seanuri Party with phone calls and text messages to pressure them to join the opposition-led campaign to impeach President Park Geun-hye. This came after Rep. Pyo Chang-won of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea unveiled a list of the lawmakers opposing the impeachment. Rep. Pyo Chang-won of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (left) argues with lawmakers of Saenuri Party at the National Assembly on Thursday. (Yonhap)Mobile phon

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2016

As an independent counsel is set to take over the investigation into the spiraling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon sil, eyes are on when Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra will return to Korea. Chung, a 19-year-old dressage rider, is involved in the scandal, but has not been brought in for questioning yet. Chung is said to be in Germany, on leave of absence from Ewha Womans University. Her mother, who stayed there with Chung, returned to Korea last month and is n

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2016

Tens of thousands of unionized workers staged a general strike and students boycotted classes Wednesday, upping pressure on President Park Geun-hye to resign. Demanding the president‘s immediate resignation, civic groups, the workers and students vowed to hold a large-scale rally Saturday. An association of 500 civic groups declared Wednesday as “a day of citizens’ resistance,” staging rallies in front of City Hall in central Seoul and in major cities from 3 p.m. More universities also joined a

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2016

Chants of “Park Geun-hye, Resign!” and loudspeakers blaring impromptu speeches denouncing the scandal-ridden president are music to the ears of some merchants in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. For over a month, protesters have flocked to the area each Saturday to protest against Park, giving the merchants an unexpected boost in sales. “Honestly, it is good. I can make a living thanks to the weekly protests,” a street vendor told The Korea Herald last Saturday while serving hot snacks to protesters. “It is

Social Affairs Nov. 28, 2016

South Korea's opposition parties on Sunday urged the Saenuri Party to join ties for the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye on her influence-peddling scandal, adding the ruling party should respond to the weekly rally that allegedly gathered more than a million a day earlier.On Saturday, organizers claimed a record 1.5 million people joined the fifth consecutive weekly rally held in central Seoul, demanding Park step down from her office amid allegations that her confidante Choi Soon-sil exer

Politics Nov. 27, 2016

A key figure in the influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante was indicted Sunday on charges ranging from an abuse of authority to embezzlement.Prosecutors said Cha Eun-taek, former commercial and music video director, will now stand trial for allegedly using his connection with Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of Park's at the center of the scandal, to pocket profits. Cha Eun-taek (Yonhap)According to prosecutors, Cha apparently used his network to coerce

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2016

Nearly 1.5 million people took to the streets of central Seoul on Saturday to demand President Park Geun-hye step down over the spiraling influence-peddling and corruption scandal.Protestors waved candles, sang songs, chanted slogans and flocked to the locations nearest to the presidential office to denounce Park in the largest rally in decades, despite the cold weather.Rally organizers said that 1.9 million people gathered for the protest nationwide, with 1.5 million in Seoul. This is the fifth

Social Affairs Nov. 27, 2016

Last Saturday, a middle-aged man took to the stage at an anti-government rally and said he would grab President Park Geun-hye by her hair to take her down, calling the unmarried leader “Miss Park” in front of the crowd. His angry impromptu remark drew cheers from participants. But his use of “miss” -- an English loan word with sexist connotations -- led many to question whether being an unmarried woman should be a point of criticism.A presenter from the candlelight vigil event issued an apology

Social Affairs Nov. 23, 2016