Overseas Koreans join protests against Park Geun-hye

South Korean protesters hold up cards during a rally calling for South Korean President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. Tens, and possibly hundreds, of thousands of South Koreans marched in Seoul on Saturday demanding the ouster of President Park Geun-hye in one of the biggest protests in the country since its democratization about 30 years ago. The letters read ” Step down, Park Geun-hye.” (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Koreans across the world held rallies to add their voices to the one million citizens gathered at Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Saturday (KST) demanding that President Park Geun-hye resign over a scandal involving longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.

Rallies were held simultaneously in 10 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan on Friday and Saturday (local time).

In the U.S., candlelight rallies were held in major cities including Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles on Friday evening (local time).

While about 500 Korean Americans and overseas Koreans shouted “Park Geun-hye out!” in front of the Consulate General of Korea in Los Angeles, more than 200 people called on Park to resign at the entrance of Koreatown, Manhattan, New York. Twenty citizens also joined the protest in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Following the anti-president rally of Korean students from the University of California , Berkeley and Stanford University, students from Harvard University in Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also denounced Park.

Angry Koreans in Europe also held the rallies on Saturday (local time) to demand Park’s resignation and to restore democracy.

In France, nearly 700 people, including local citizens, international students and tourists, took part in a rally calling on Park to step down.

In Germany, about 300 people protested at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin wearing the masks of Park and Choi. As well as demanding Park’s resignation, they also called on the Korean government to investigate the case properly and punish the criminals.

Anti-Park rallies were also held in other cities including Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Bochum.

Meanwhile, about 800 Koreans in Australia joined a candlelight rally at the Hyde Park, Sydney, and 150 protesters picketed with signs at Aotea Square, Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday afternoon.

They demanded Park’s resignation and a proper investigation of the influence-peddling scandal.

Protests were also held in Canada, England, Japan, India and Brazil during the two days. (Lee Jin-a, The Korea Times)