[5.24/25] '촛불문화제'

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Police detain 37 beef protesters (Korea Herald, 5.25)

Police detained 37 protesters Saturday in their first crackdown on candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports.

About 7,000 people (according to several independent reports: between 25,000 and 50,000!!!) staged a rally in central Seoul demanding the government scrap the import deal.

A clash erupted as police tried to disperse the protesters, who had blocked roads, disrupting traffic. Police used water cannons and pushed the demonstrators off the roads. No serious injuries were reported.

Police are investigating them on charges of violating the Law on Assembly and Demonstration.

It was the first anti-U.S. beef demonstration in which riot police stepped in to disperse protesters, taking some of them to police stations by force. "We concluded that they violated the law by occupying roads and staging sit-in protests into the wee hours of the morning. We will sternly deal with any illegal protests," said the police.

An estimated 7,000 protesters began the 17th candlelight vigil in Cheonggye Plaza in central Seoul at 7 p.m. on Saturday, holding up pickets reading "nullify the beef imports and scrap the official notification of the import terms."

Protesters began marching onto the streets leading up to Cheong Wa Dae around 9 p.m. causing a gridlock in the area. Police immediately dispatched about 2,400 riot police to prevent the demonstrators from entering the presidential office after they occupied the eight-lane thoroughfare in front of Kyobo Bookstore in Jongno.

About 500 protesters, mostly in their 20s and 30s, remained on the streets until midnight in defiance of continued police warnings.

At around 4 a.m. the police declared the road occupation illegal and forcibly took 37 protesters, who strongly resisted the crackdown by lying on the ground, to police stations.

At 6.30 a.m. riot police cleared the protesters off the road onto the sidewalks. The move prompted strong resistance from the protesters again, who claim that violence was used during the dispersal process.

Prior to the candlelight vigil on Saturday, about 19,000 workers from seven unions registered with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions rallied in protest of the government's scheme to privatize the public sector. Public servants, journalists and teachers nationwide were among them. (*)

"The incumbent government's policies regarding education, food, medicine and prices, have been devastating the economy for ordinary citizens," said the KCTU.

They protested plans to privatize water, railway, electricity and gas companies, and the state medical insurance.

Following their rallies, they joined the candlelight vigil opposing U.S. beef imports...

Timeline of the "events", according to KCTU:

5월24일(오후)
19:00 서울 청계광장 17회 촛불문화제 개최
21:10 일부 시민들 자발적으로 청와대행진 실시
21:30 촛불집회 참가자들 자발적으로 청와대행진 합류
21:40 경찰, 세종로네거리 병력투입 및 차벽 설치 (통행 및 교통 차단)
22:30 시민들 종로통으로 방향 선회 및 종각 일대에서 청와대행진 시도
23:50 경찰 난입, 행진대오들 분산, 종각 차도 연좌시위 돌입
23:59 경찰 다시 병력 투입

5월25일
00:03 경찰 1차 강제진압 실시 (시민 5명 폭력연행)
00:10 광화문우체국 연도 시민들 '경찰 폭력연행'에 집단 항의
00:13 종각차도, 평화집회 보장 요구하며 연좌농성
00:30 농성중 '이명박타도, 독재타도' 구호 외치며 경찰과 대치
00:50 경찰 병력 재투입, 충돌
01:00 경찰 차량 투입해 차도농성 현장과 보도쪽 분리
01:45 경찰, 농성현장에서 일부 차량과 병력 철수, 시민들 촛불 연좌농성
(점거농성 현장에 정부고시 일주일 연기 소문)
02:00 일부 시민들 광화문 농성소식 듣고 농성현장 합류, 촛불농성 및 자유발언 지속
02:30 청와대 비서관 광화문 농성현장 투입소식 공지
(01:45-04:10 광화문 점거농성현장 연좌시위 및 시민들 자유발언 진행)
04:10 경찰 살수차 2대와 병력 투입
04:25 경찰, 농성현장 지키던 시민들에게 물대포 살수
04:45 농성시민들, 폭력경찰에 항의하며 경찰병력에 밀착해 '평화집회 보장, 협상무효 고시연기' 등 외치며 남녀노소 모두 팔을 건 채 몸을 경찰의 농성현장 침탈 규탄, 격렬 공방
04:48 경찰, 농성장 시민들 향해 소화기 살포 및 폭력진압, 시민부상자 및 연행자 속출
05:15 경찰 살수차 빠지고 병력 투입해 농성현장 계속 침탈, 시민들 '평화시위 보장, 폭력경찰 물러가라, 협상무효 고시철회' 구호 계속하며 '제발 도와달라' 눈물로 호소. 격렬 대치.
05:23 경찰, 다시 폭력침탈
05:25 농성시민들 집단 폭력연행, 시민들 절규.
05:34 대치
05:47 경찰, 또 다시 폭력침탈, 시민들 '독재정권 물러나라' 구호 외쳐
05:50 경찰, 인도까지 경찰투입, 인도에 서서 밤샘농성 벌이며 폭력경찰 물러나라 구호 외치던 시민들 폭력 퇴거
06:18 농성시민들 광화문우체국쪽 인도 쪽으로 고립(경찰 차벽세워 차도와 인도 분리)
07:00 경찰, 세종로네거리, 종각, 청계천 등지에 병력 집중투입
07:30 광화문우체국 인도쪽, 시민들 연좌농성 돌입, 부상자 및 연행자 현황 파악