Anti-gov't candlelight rally resumes in Seoul after 2-month respite

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- Civic activists and progressive opposition politicians held a candlelight rally in downtown Seoul on Saturday to protest the conservative Lee Myung-bak government's latest policies, reigniting the anti-government street movement after a two-month respite, police said Sunday.

Crowds sitting on the pavement with candles had been a regular scene in central
Seoul until August this year, following an unconditional U.S. beef import
agreement that sparked wide public uproar.
The months-long candlelight protest came to a lull in the summer after the beef
deal actually took effect with additional safeguards.
Police said a candlelight rally was held for the first time in two months on
Saturday night amid renewed controversy on the government's tax cuts and
government officials' illegal grab of rice subsidies.
Civic activists and lawmakers of the Democratic Labor Party waved candles in a
downtown square, criticizing the government's recent decision to ease tax burdens
for high-end homeowners as a move serving only "the top 1 percent of Koreans."
They also took issue with a mushrooming scandal over thousands of government
officials and several ruling Grand National Party lawmakers who were found to
have pocketed rice farming subsidies meant to go to farmers.
Police said 1,100 people participated, while the organizers put the figure at 4,000.
No major clash was reported. About 2,000 police officers were mobilized to guard
against possible violence.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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