SEOUL — Americans in South Korea should avoid a pair of large-scale, emotionally charged rallies scheduled for this weekend in Seoul, the U.S. Embassy here warned Thursday.
In a warden message transmitted to U.S. citizens in the country, the embassy warned of demonstrations involving as many as 35,000 protesters scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
The first, a rally by 15,000 Korean farmers, is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Seoul Train Station, officials said. The second, a rally by 20,000 labor activists in Jongmyo Park, was scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
The information was forwarded to the embassy by the Seoul Metropolitan Police, officials said.
“American citizens and their family members should exercise caution and avoid gatherings of large groups in order to minimize risk to their personal safety,” the warden message read.
The rally by the farmers’ groups, the embassy said, is to protest agricultural policies of the South Korean government. The second rally is in reaction to government labor policies. In recent days, police and public workers have clashed in small-scale scuffles. The public employees are asserting the right to unionize, which the government says is illegal.
The warden message urged U.S. citizens to avoid the rallies this weekend, and noted the demonstrations could move away from their original locations.
“The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to keep the U.S. community informed of any changes in the overall security situation,” the warning read.
Earlier this fall, the embassy issued a strongly worded caution about the possibility of terrorist attacks in South Korea. That message, which linked the possible attacks to retribution for South Korea’s dispatch of troops to Iraq, led to U.S. Forces Korea imposing a 9 p.m. curfew on all its personnel.
