Anti-FTA rallies expected on weekend
Korea Times
Anti-FTA Rallies Expected on Weekend
By Bae Ji-sook, Staff Reporter
6 April 2007
Several anti-FTA rallies are to take place in central Seoul this weekend, and clashes between protesters and police, and traffic jams are expected.
Saturday marks the first weekend since the conclusion of a South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) on April 2, which angered some civic groups as well as unions that are planning to protest the deal.
About 2,000 members of an alliance against the accord will gather at Seoul Station plaza at 2 p.m., and call for the abandonment of the agreement. At 7 p.m., they will hold candlelight vigil.
The alliance said they have already reported the gathering to the police, but will go ahead with it even if the police refuse to give permission for the protest.
It said that similar rallies will also be held simultaneously nationwide.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is also to hold a rally at Taehangno, Seoul, at 2 p.m. Members of the union are to march to the City Hall plaza, which has already been booked by another group.
