Anchor: Candlelight rallies and other public gatherings are taking place across the nation as civic groups and citizens call on President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign after his surprise martial law declaration late Tuesday.  College students, labor activists and others say unbelievable things have happened and they won’t sit idly by.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report:
[Nat Sound from Candlelight Rally Calling for Pres. Yoon's Resignation - Dec. 4, 2024]

An estimated ten-thousand people held up candles in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on Wednesday evening, calling on President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down after he shocked the nation by declaring martial law the night before.

[Hwang Nam-sun - Rally Participant (Korean/English Translation)](00:16)(03:00)
“I thought it was fake news.”

“What other country in the world would declare emergency martial law for a situation like this? Unbelievable things have happened in our country, and I think we must set things right with the power of the people.”

Angry over the first use of martial law in 45 years, the participants marched in the direction of Yongsan, where the presidential office is located.

[Im Jang-pyo - College Student and Rally Participant (Korean/English Translation)](03:13)

“I came in a hurry, thinking that students should not sit idly by when such an unprecedented incident of the president declaring martial law has taken place.”

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation’s major umbrella labor union and one of the organizers of the rally, announced an indefinite strike until the president leaves office.

Meanwhile, the Korean Railway Workers’ Union launched a walkout on Thursday, and labor groups in other sectors are expected to stage similar protests.

Citizens called for the president’s impeachment at a sit-in near the National Assembly and a press conference near the ruling People Power Party headquarters, while university campuses across the country are preparing to issue declarations on state affairs.

The events are expected to continue into the late hours of Thursday.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.