Thousands march in Seoul for president’s resignation

Seoul (South Korea), Nov. 12 : Thousands of South Koreans took part in an anti-government protest here on Saturday over a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye's longtime confidante and former key aides.

After noon, a number of people began to gather around two squares in central Seoul to attend smaller rallies before the major event kicked off at 4 p.m.

local time, reports Xinhua. Later, attendees marched along the road to pre-determined locations near the Blue House, the president's office-cum-residence.

A private association to demand Park's resignation, which is composed of about 1,500 civic groups, held a pre-official event in the Gwanghwamun Square, just a kilometer away from the Blue House.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, another organizer and one of the country's two umbrella labor union groups, held an occasion in a Seoul Plaza in front of the city hall, close to the Gwanghwamun square.

The number of demonstrators to attend the Seoul rally is expected to keep rising as labor unionists, youths, university students, scholars, the urban poor, the disabled and farmers plan to join the event after separate protests across downtown Seoul.

Almost all train tickets for Seoul were sold out, and chartered buses became hard to find as at least 100,000 people left for the capital city to join the mass rally.

Source: ANI