Taegukgi rallies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taegeukgi rallies
Taegukgirally in 2019.png
DateOctober 31, 2016[1] ~present
(5 years, 4 months, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Korea; All regions and other countries
Caused byBacklash to
GoalsObjections to Impeachment of Park Geun-hye and 2016–2017 South Korean protests, dismissal and rejection of Constitutional Court of Korea, invalidation of impeachment citation by the Constitutional Court, Park Geun-hye President Lottery, President Park Geun-hye's release, National Assembly dissolution, Opposing President Park Geun-hye's expulsion
Resulted in
Parties to the civil conflict

Protesters

Government of the Republic of Korea

Lead figures
* [6]
* park geun hye (~2016.12.9)
  • Hwang Gyo-an(2016.12.9~2017.05.10)
  • Moon Jae-in (2017.05.10~)
Number

Sep 12 2016
1,300 (Estimated by the organiser)
700 (Police estimate)[7]
Sep 19 2016
11,000 (Police estimate)
67,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
Sep 26 2016
800 (Police estimate)
10,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[8]
Dec 3 2016
1,500 (Police estimate)
15,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[9]
Dec 10 2016
213,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[10]
40,000 (Police estimate)[11]
Dec 17 2016
1,000,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[12]
30,000 (Police estimate)[13]
2016년 12월 24일
1,700,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
21,000 (Police estimate)[14]
Dec 31 2016
725,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
17,000 (Police estimate)[15]
Jan 7 2017
1,020,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
37,000 (Police estimate)[16]
Jan 14 2017
1,200,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[17]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Jan 21 2017
1,500,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[19]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Feb 4 2017
1,300,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[20]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Feb 11 2017
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
2,100,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[21]
Feb 18 2017
2,500,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[22]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Feb 25 2017
3,000,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[23]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Mar 1 2017
5,000,000[24]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Mar 4 2017
5,000,000[25]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Mar 8 2017
7,700,000[26][27]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Mar 18 2017
1,500,000 (Estimated by the organiser)[28]
Undisclosed (Police estimate)[18]
Mar 25 2017
2,300,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
Undisclosed (Police estimate)
Apr 1 2017
700,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
Undisclosed (Police estimate)
Apr 8 2017
5,000,000 (Estimated by the organiser)
Undisclosed(Police estimate)

Cumulative number of Attendees
Police estimate : 159,600

Estimated by the organiser : 43,551,300

Nov 12 2016
25,000 Police
Dec 19 2016
20,000[29]
Nov 26 2016
25,000 Police
Dec 3 2016
30,000 Police[30]
Dec 10 2016
18,200 Police[31]
Dec 17 2016
18,240 Police[32]
Dec 24 2016
14,700[33]
Dec 31 2016
18,400[34]
Jan 7 2017
14,720[35]
Jan 14 2017
14,700[36]
Jan 21 2017
15,500[37]
Feb 4 2017
14,600[38]
Feb 11 2017
16,000[39]
Feb 8 2017
15,200[40]
Feb 25 2017
17,000[41]
Mar 1 2017
16,000[42]
Mar 4 2017
15,900[43]
Mar 8 2017
38,100[44][45]
Mar 18 2017
11,000[46]
Mar 25 2017
12,300

Cumulative number of Attendees

370,560
Casualties
Death(s)4 people

The Taegeukgi rallies (Korean: 태극기 집회), also known as the Pro-Park rallies (Korean: 친박집회), are ongoing rallies that initially started as a series of counter-candlelight rallies supporting the former president of South Korea Park Geun-hye in 2016 but now continuing with the aim of releasing Park Geun-hye.[47] The Taegeukgi protestors or the Taegeukgi crowds (Korean: 태극기 부대) got their names because they vehemently swung or wore South Korean flags (the Taegeukgi) during rallies.[48]

On October 26, 2016, the first candlelight protest was held, demanding Geun-hye to step down from office.[48] Since then, an estimated 18 million protesters over the course of 6 months gathered in Gwanghwamun Plaza to demand the resignation and impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye.[48] The demonstrations continued until Geun-hye was dismissed from presidency in March 2017, even after the Constitutional Court confirmed the National Assembly's call for impeachment. Public anger centered on Park Geun-hye's role in political corruption regarding his personal acquaintance, Choi Soon-sil, and her role in unlawfully intervening with state affairs and coercing conglomerates to contribute large sums of money to Choi's own foundation.[48]

Pro-Park advocates, also known as 'silver patriots' representing an older generation, believed anti-Park forces were the pro-North Korean sympathizers and manipulated by biased media.[49] To them, what they were doing was for the protection of Jayuminjujuui (Korean: 자유민주주의; lit. "liberal democracy" or "free and democracy") that they think they had contributed to rescue from direct communist threats in the past.[49] The Financial Times compared them to the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[50]

Controversies[]

Conservatism[]

The Taegeukgi protests have been remarked as the first massive political assembly by the conservative camp after the democratization of South Korea.[51]

Taegeukgi crowds do not support Geun-hye's policy or political vision.[52]

In the 2012 South Korean presidential election, Geun-hye won with a majority 51.55% of votes.[52] Geun-hye's party, the Liberty Korea Party, had leaned toward the conservative end of the political spectrum so this attracted many conservative voters. However, when Park's change in political corruption was uncovered, 85% of Korean citizens agreed to impeach her from the presidency.[52] In addition to this, a large number of conservatives joined the pro-impeachment rallies for a long period of time, which proved that not only the liberals, but also a majority of conservative supporters of Geun-hye turned against her.[52]

Academic Chae jangsoo analyzes that Geun-hye is considered among Taegeukgi protestors as a projection of the past that is positively perceived by the Taegeukgi protestors themselves.[51] Most of the key participants of the rallies were the generation that played a key role during the time of industrialization and high economic development of South Korea under the former dictator Park Chung-hee.[51]

Taegeukgi and other flags[]

From demonstrations against Japanese imperial rule to the democratization movement in 1987, waving Taegeukgi elicited patriotism and strong resistance to unjust persecution.[48] However, as Taegeukgi protestors began to vehemently swing Taegeukgi, it is more and more becoming a symbol for the extreme right-wing activism.[48]

In the 1970s, Park Chung-hee, a former dictator of South Korea as well as the father of Geun-hye, gained a number of advocates through modernization of South Korea.[52] When Jung-hee took power through a military coup, he used Taegeukgi to legitimize his dictatorship and to a right-wing ideology.[52][48] Chung-hee treated all the other dissenting voices of his policy as pro-communism and that were to be eradicated in the political arena.[48] One thing Chung-hee actively propagated was “the Reds” (Korean: 빨갱이) which refers to an expression of hatred toward North Korean communism.[52] Chung-hee also exploited this notion to oppress any political critiques.[52]

Waving Taegeukgi is a strategy of the extreme right Taegeukgi protestors employed to represent their own definition of patriotism, democracy and nationalism and merged it with a sense of nostalgia of their glorious past.[48]

The flags of the United States or pro-Trump slogans were also rampant during the rallies. This is because Taegeukgi crowds have faith that the US's military intervention prevented communism to override the South during the Korean War.[48] The US flags therefore symbolize more than an ally of South Korea. To Taegeukgi protestors, the US is expected be hawk-eyed against left-wing forces and any other pro-North Korea sympathizers.[48]

Participation[]

Number of protestors[]

On March 1st Movement Day, the Taegeukgi rallies were held. The main organizer of Taegeukgi protests, (Korean: 대통령탄핵기각을위한국민총궐기운동본부; in short 탄기국), reported the 15th anti-impeachment demonstration participation was over 5,000,000. This estimate had been criticized to be absurd because Seoul’s population is 9,904,312 (2015), Busan has population of around 3,500,000, Denmark has population of 5,600,000, and Norway has a population of 5,200,000.[53]

The issue of estimating participants emerged on January 13, when the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced not to release estimated number of participants. The police had released an estimated number of participants, but as protests with conflicting interests are held simultaneously and the participation numbers have had aroused confusion, police publicly reported not to count the numbers.[54]

Police operated a security force for safety and prevention of unexpected collisions at the protest site. The purpose of counting the number was an essential part to approximate numbers of tactical units to be dispatched. Police used the Fermi method. The Fermi method is estimating the number of people per area with an assumption that 5-6 people can fit in 3.3 square meters (1 plung). As such, the police estimate the number of people according to their internal needs, so strictly speaking, it is not the 'official announcement' of the estimated number of people. The size of the gathering is often a public concern, so the media has only made its own estimates available to the public.[54]

[]

The broadcasting network JTBC, based on the testimony of participants and leaders of pro-Park groups, reported on January 26 that pro-Park Taegeukgi crowds were paying people to attend rallies so as to inflate the number of participants. General members of the (Korean: 대한민국 어버이연합) could receive KR₩20,000 (US$18), and the pay was sometimes raised to ₩60,000 ($53). Some people in financial difficulties, including the homeless, could be paid ₩50,000 ($44) if they took a shower and tidied their appearance. Any young women with babies could receive ₩150,000 ($133).[55]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ 어버이연합 "태블릿PC입수 경위 공개하라"…JTBC 사옥 앞에서 집회. 매일경제. 2016-10-31.
  2. ^ 朴 대통령 탄핵 반대 단체 '탄기국', 집회 열어..'탄핵 반대' '국회 해산' 등 구호 외쳐. 스포츠경향.
  3. ^ 대규모 3차 촛불집회...박사모·엄마 부대도 맞불 집회. YTN. 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  4. ^ 대치동 새 특검 사무실 앞 어버이연합 집회 "촛불보다 세게 합시다" (영상).[dead link]
  5. ^ 친박단체 '송화영태' 집회…"촛불 보내고 태극기 맞는다". 31 December 2016.
  6. ^ 보수단체 탄핵무효 맞불집회 개최, 권영해 전 장관 "1997년 종북세력 소탕못해 죄송". 17 December 2016.
  7. ^ 보수단체, 여의도에서 맞불 집회..700여명 참석. 연합뉴스.
  8. ^ [5차 촛불집회] 박사모 "朴 대통령은 너무 강렬한 첫사랑". 한국일보.
  9. ^ >"More than 2 million take to streets calling for Park's resignation". 3 December 2016.
  10. ^ '박사모' 등 보수단체 맞불집회…다툼도. 11 December 2016.
  11. ^ 촛불행진에 껴든 박사모…"박 대통령 응원하러 가자". 10 December 2016.
  12. ^ [화보] 외신 카메라가 생생하게 포착한 오늘 박사모의 ‘박근혜 탄핵 반대집회’. 17 December 2016.
  13. ^ 8차 촛불집회.. 보수단체도 '맞불집회' 벌여.
  14. ^ [9차 촛불집회]성탄 전야 광화문은 촛불 물결..거리에선 "하야 크리스마스". 24 December 2016.
  15. ^ 보수단체 "태극기로 촛불 보낸다" '탄핵반대' 맞불집회(종합). 연합뉴스.
  16. ^ 새해 첫 보수단체 맞불집회, 시민들 반응 냉담.
  17. ^ 김진태 "세월호 7시간은 인류 역사상 최악의 악질 선동".
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 경찰 "앞으로 탄핵 찬성·반대집회 자체추산 인원 비공개".
  19. ^ "태극기로 촛불 막자"..강추위·함박눈에 열린 '맞불집회'. 이데일리.
  20. ^ [동영상]박근혜 탄핵반대측 집회 "250만" "130만" 오락가락…실제 현장 모습은?. 6 February 2017.
  21. ^ 제1차 태극기시민혁명국민대회 개최…“초심으로 돌아갈 것”. 아시아투데이. 2017-04-22.
  22. ^ 광화문은 '촛불', 대한문은 '태극기'..주말 대규모 집회. MBN.
  23. ^ 탄핵 찬반집회 세대결…"특검 연장해야" vs "졸속 탄핵 용납 못해". 25 February 2017.
  24. ^ 탄기국 "500만 명 참석"..덴마크 인구가 광화문에?. 프레시안.
  25. ^ 탄핵선고 임박..광장 열기 최고조 "인용" vs "각하". 연합뉴스.
  26. ^ [탄핵심판 '운명의 날']탄기국 "1시간 뒤면 잔치 분위기..각하 확신". 헤럴드경제.
  27. ^ '탄핵 무효' 외치는 태극기 집회..'촛불 승리' 마침표 찍은 촛불 집회. MBN.
  28. ^ 태극기 집회, 새 국면..정치활동으로 朴 파면 불복운동 본격화. 파이낸셜뉴스.
  29. ^ 전국 곳곳 '4차 촛불집회'…경찰 경력 투입, 일부 교통정체. 19 November 2016.
  30. ^ 경찰, 촛불집회 대비 전국 3만 병력 배치…서울 2만5천. 동아일보. 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-28.[dead link]
  31. ^ [7차 촛불집회] 경찰 병력 2만명 배치해 사고 대비.
  32. ^ '박근혜 퇴진행동' 광화문 집회 시작…'박사모'등 친박단체 경찰 차벽 건너편서 '맞불집회'.
  33. ^ ‘9차 촛불집회’…‘맞불집회’와 충돌 없이 마무리.
  34. ^ 10차 촛불집회 '1박2일' 진행..친박단체도 맞불집회.
  35. ^ 경찰, 세월호 1000일 추모 촛불 1만4720여명 투입.
  36. ^ 맹추위 속 12차 촛불집회…경찰 1만4700여명 투입.
  37. ^ '이재용 영장 기각' 촛불 최대 변수..경찰 1만5500명 투입.
  38. ^ 탄핵 찬반집회, 도심 곳곳에서 개최…경찰병력 1만4600명 배치.
  39. ^ 오늘 주말 집회 '총동원령'…경찰 병력 배치·지하철 탄력 운행. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  40. ^ '70만명 운집' 광화문 촛불..청와대·헌재 행진 시작.
  41. ^ 朴 취임일 맞붙는 두 광장의 세대결.."4년 끝내자"vs"지키자".
  42. ^ 3·1절 촛불 vs 태극기 대규모 집회… 경찰, 경비병력 1만6천명 투입.
  43. ^ 4일 탄핵심판 선고 전 대규모 집회 '막판 총력전'.
  44. ^ 3박4일 이어진 태극기집회 "탄핵각하는 선물..새벽까지 축제 열겠다".
  45. ^ "탄핵은 음모" 친박집회, 살벌한 분위기 '일촉즉발'.
  46. ^ 박사모 등 친박단체 '탄핵무효 총궐기' 집회 일제히 열려 "탄핵당일 사망자 장례도 겸해".
  47. ^ ""박근혜 석방" "탄핵 무효"…탄핵 2년 앞둔 주말 서울 곳곳서 '태극기 집회'". Chosun Ilbo. 2019-03-09.
  48. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lee, Joonseong; Brown, Katherine E (1 March 2018). ""Make Korea with America Great Again": An Articulation and Assemblage of South Korean Extreme Right Practices". Communication, Culture and Critique. 11 (1): 53–66. doi:10.1093/ccc/tcx004. ISSN 1753-9129.
  49. ^ a b Lee, Hyunchool (2018). "Silver Generation's Counter-Movement in the Information Age: Korea's Pro-Park Rallies". Korea Observer (in Korean). 49 (3): 465–491. doi:10.29152/KOIKS.2018.49.3.465. ISSN 0023-3919. S2CID 159208168.
  50. ^ Park, S. Nathan. "It's Time for Justice, Not Healing".
  51. ^ a b c Chae, JangSoo (November 2018). "The Ideology of 'Taegeugi Rally'". Marxism (in Korean). 15 (4): 105–128. ISSN 1738-2998.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g h Moon, Sunghoon (October 2018). "A Social- patho logical Research of the Birth of Taegeukgi Crowd". Korean Society for Social Philosophy (in Korean) (36): 1–30. ISSN 1738-6519.
  53. ^ Hyung-joon, Kim (1 March 2017). "태극기집회에 500만명? 해도 너무한 '뻥튀기'" [Five million people in Taegukki rally? Too much 'pop']. The Hankook-Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  54. ^ a b "경찰 "앞으로 탄핵 찬성·반대집회 자체추산 인원 비공개"" [Police say "prosecution and opposition to impeachment"]. Yonhap News (in Korean). 13 January 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  55. ^ ""목욕하고 오면 5만원" 친박집회 '참가자 가격표'" [If you come to the bath, it will be 50,000 won]. JTBC News (in Korean). 26 January 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
Retrieved from ""