The rally brought together 53 labor unions and civic groups – police estimated a total of 80,000 protesters, though estimates ranged as high as 130,000 – in opposition to a series of government policies, including the recent move to reintroduce state-published history textbooks from 2017 onwards.
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Tens of thousands of people of took part in the march, according to police.
The crowd, many of whom chanted “Down with Park Geun-hye!” and “No to layoffs!” surged down a 10-lane boulevard toward Park’s presidential office, the Blue House, several blocks away. Nearby, police sprayed water cannons from above a portable wall to disperse marchers who were trying to advance.
Scuffles erupted when plainclothes police officers tried to detain Han under a court warrant that allowed them to arrest him for organizing illegal protests in the past. Others attacked the buses with sticks and rocks, or spray-painted anti-government slogans on them.
One farmer is unconscious after suffering a stroke when he was hit in the chest by a water cannon, while more than 500 demonstrators were injured, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a statement on Sunday.
Kim Sung-soo, spokesman of the country’s main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy, released a statement criticizing the “excessively violent” police suppression of the protest, which he said was responsible for Baek’s injury.
By the number of participants, it was the largest protest rally in the country since 2008, when massive demonstrations were staged in protest against the then Lee Myung-bak government’s resumption of USA beef imports.
Ms Park is the daughter of assassinated military dictator Park Chung-hee, who ruled South Korea in the 1960s and 70s, and whose legacy as a successful economic strategist is marred by a record of severe oppression.
The government said the changes were needed to help companies compete better with low-priced industries in China and to create jobs for young people.
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Doctors told Baek’s family that his condition was too fragile to attempt emergency surgery, Cho said.
