Protesters march on SKorean presidential office

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

A sea of protesters stood face to face with police 200 meters from South Korea's presidential office Saturday evening, near enough for the country's leader to hear their cry: "Park Geun-hye, resign!"

It is the closest that authorities have ever permitted demonstrators to come to the Blue House.

An estimated 1.5 million citizens gathered in central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square before proceeding to march towards Park's base, where they were met with a blockade of police buses and officers.

Despite the temperature staying close to freezing after snowfall through much of the day, protesters braved the conditions with the same festive gusto that has characterized five consecutive weekends of protest amid a corruption scandal that continues to unfold.

Having backtracked on a promise to cooperate with state prosecutors last Sunday, Park's approval rating fell to as low as four percent this week -- lawmakers are also likely to vote in favor of an impeachment motion early next month.

But for members of the public, there is no time like the present.

The march to the Blue House brought together a diverse cross-section of society including politicians and professionals, university students and professors, parents and their children -- even farmers forced by police to leave their tractors at the city's outskirts after journeys that took several days in some cases.

No South Korean has seemingly been unaffected by the claim that their leader allowed a private confidante among others to abuse their connections to the Blue House -- not to mention suspicions that Park herself allegedly coerced conglomerates into making donations and gave away state secrets.

With hundreds of thousands more people taking a stand nationwide, organizers plan to continue rallying every Saturday until the president steps down.

Unlike last November’s chaotic scenes of anti-government violence, these have been carefully choreographed exhibitions of peaceful resistance -- featuring waves of candlelight, catchy chants, music performances on stage and telecommunications trucks ensuring reliable access to social media from smartphones.

A sympathetic Seoul Metropolitan Government, led by a mayor affiliated with the main opposition Democratic Party, has also extended public transport operations and beefed up amenities such as portable toilets.

For all the pressure she is under, however, Park has not given any sign that she plans to leave office before the end of her term in early 2018.