While the historic vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye gets underway inside the National Assembly on Friday, citizens will be holding a sit-in outside the parliamentary building to ramp up pressure on politicians to oust Park.

An association of some 1,500 civic groups demanding President Park’s resignation plan to hold a large-scale debate session at the front gate of the National Assembly main building in southwestern Seoul from 1:30 p.m. Friday until the vote ends. 

Artists will join the move by surrounding the National Assembly building with some 1,000 yellow-colored flags bearing messages from the public calling for Park’s ouster until Friday.

The daily candlelight vigils, which have been held at Gwanghwamun Square in the evenings, will be staged in front of the National Assembly building until Friday, according to the rally organizers.

This came after National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun said the parliament would temporarily allow protests at the front gate following requests from the civic groups and lawmakers a day earlier.

The Public Assembly Act bans protests within 100 meters of the nation’s key facilities, such as the presidential office, National Assembly building and foreign assemblies.

“The National Assembly is the hall to echo the will of the people. It is the parliament’s responsibility to guarantee the public’s free and peaceful expression of their opinions within the legal boundaries,” Chung said.

But he refused to open the parliament to the public or allow rallies inside the National Assembly building.

Farmers also joined the last-ditch effort to remove Park from her presidential office by driving their tractors and trucks to Seoul, but it remains to be seen whether their farming vehicles will be allowed into Seoul.

Some 200 members of the Korean Peasants League, the country’s biggest farmers’ association, plan to drive some 10 tractors and 20 trucks on the highway through Suwon and Anyang up to the National Assembly on Friday. They plan to join anti-Park rallies in central Seoul on tractors and trucks on Saturday.

“It is the second uprising of farmers to plow up dirty power and dirty history. Let’s sow seeds of history to give hope to the public,” said Kim Young-ho, chief of the peasants’ group, during a rally held Thursday in front of Pyeongtaek City Hall.

This would be their second attempt to roll into Seoul on trucks and tractors in a display of defiance. In late November, they had to leave their vehicles in a side street to get into Seoul due to police blocking their way. The farmers and police clashed, with three farmers injured.

Police again plan to stop the trucks and tractors from coming into Seoul, saying the vehicles could pose a danger to the public. They plan to ban them from carrying any placards or flags with political messages on the vehicles.

Police said 1,100 officers would be dispatched.

Regardless of whether lawmakers decide to impeach Park, the anti-Park rally organizers said they would hold a demonstration demanding President Park’s immediate resignation at Gwanghwamun Square on Saturday.

“If the impeachment motion is rejected, more South Koreans will take to the streets in anger,” the rally organizers said in a statement.

As in previous rallies, participants will completely surround the presidential office from several locations starting from 4 p.m. The main event is scheduled for 6 p.m. in its seventh massive street rally against Park.

Police have banned marching rallies in proximity of the presidential office, citing safety concerns and traffic disruption. But they have allowed small-scale rallies until 10 p.m.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)