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| Protesters shout for an end to gender discrimination at the sixth rally of "The Courage to be Uncomfortable," a protest against spycam porn and biased police investigation of sex crimes, at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Saturday. / Yonhap |
By Jung Hae-myoung
About 110,000 women gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Saturday, for the last demonstration against gender discrimination.
The number, estimated by the organizer, was the highest since the first rally in May to protest widespread "spycam porn" and gender discrimination in police investigations of sex crimes.
In the protest, titled "The Courage to be Uncomfortable," the participants bombarded members of the National Assembly's legislation-judiciary committee and heads of political parties with text messages that read, "We, 25 million women, are ordering you to pass the law for women's rights immediately. Do not forget half of the voters in this country are women."
On Wednesday before the rally, the organizer posted an official notice on the internet informing the community that "The Courage to be Uncomfortable" rallies would be postponed indefinitely with the sixth rally being the last.
"The reason for ending the rallies is not because of pressure from the government, or because this movement is political," the operator of the group said.
"Since we started the first rally in May, we have been attacked by men, whether conservatives or progressives. Under these circumstances, the operating team was doubtful over whether the feminist agenda can bring true changes in society without being distorted," it said.
"So we decided to suspend the next rally with the sixth one as the last. After the sixth protest, we'll look back to see what backlash we've confronted and devise ways to prevent our agenda from being engulfed by the backlash that will probably become stronger."
The first rally was held on May 19 to speak out against a police investigation into a case where a female nude model took a picture of a male nude model during an art class at Hongik University and uploaded it on the internet.
Police then moved "exceptionally quickly" to investigate the case to find the offender. She was caught and the case was sent to the prosecution in less than a week, a very short period of time compared to almost all other voyeur video crimes in which women are victims.
Over the last six rallies, the organization demanded the government increase its budget to enhance safety for women, and establish laws to root out a spycam porn cartel involving file sharing site operators and heavy uploaders of voyeur videos and those who film them.
The protesters' anger peaked when former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung was acquitted of sexually assaulting his secretary at a district court trial in August, and when the police investigation confirmed a spycam porn cartel involving Yang Jin-ho, the owner of the nation's two largest file sharing sites, in November.
At the third rally, some of the protesters used inappropriate expressions while denouncing President Moon Jae-in for failing to protect women's rights, such as demanding he kill himself, gaining criticism from not only men and Moon supporters but also other women. Since then, the protesters have refrained from aggressive expressions.
"Since May, seven months have passed but we are enraged by still prevailing illegal voyeur videos and the misogynistic society dominated by male power," the operator said. "But we will go wherever female voices are needed."
