SEOUL, Nov. 12 (UPI) — Protests calling for the removal of South Korean President Park Geun-hye continued Saturday as hundreds of thousands gathered in Seoul.
Police planned to deploy about 25,000 officers to the area as they estimated a crowd of up to 170,000 people, Yonhap News Agency reported.
A private organization composed of about 1,500 civic groups organized the rally in addition to another event in the Gwanghwamun Square, near the presidential office and residence known as the Blue House.
Organizers predicted a crowd of one million people to continue the series of massive rally’s to remove Park after a scandal alleging she allowed her close friend Choi Soon-sil to influence her decisions and gain access to presidential documents.
An estimated 50,000 protestors gathered in the capital to stage a similar protest last week, carrying candles and anti-Park signs.
This week’s protest is expected to be the country’s largest, topping a previous record set in 2008 when 80,000 people gathered to protest U.S. beef imports.
Train tickets to Seoul sold out in advance of the rally and other methods of transportation such as charted buses were in high demand, according to Xinhua.
Protestors received permission from the Seoul Administrative Court to march toward the presidential office around 5 p.m. after police had banned them from entering the crossroads near Gyeongbokgung Station due to fear of traffic problems.
“Considering the specific purpose of this rally, which is to convey the public voice to the president, the meaning Sajik street and Yulgok street hold is significantly different from what they meant for other rallies,” the court said.
