Civic groups plan rally against financial companies Saturday
By Yun Suh-young
As the drumbeat of “Occupy Wall Street” is getting louder in the United States, a number of civic groups plan to organize similar rallies in Yeoido, Seoul, the home of financial giants and regulators.
The consumer rights groups, led by the Korea Finance Consumer Association (KOFICA) and Spec Watch Korea, are discussing the details about holding a protest in the “Wall Street of Korea” this Saturday, a KOFICA official said Tuesday.
Baek Sung-jin, secretary general at KOFICA, said their protests will not call for the same things that protesters in Wall Street are asking for but their demands will be locally customized to meet the domestic situation.
“We will mainly call for financial firms to perform as entities for public good, compensation for imperfect sales of financial products and reform in the financial sector,” he said.
Not only civic group members but university students are expected to join the rally as they demand financial authorities to take steps to make financial firms cut interest rates on tuition loans.
They will hold the first protest Saturday as the date is also designated as a global action day by protesters on Wall Street.
The demonstration will likely take place in front of the Korea Exchange or the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeoido, where the major financial companies are clustered.
They have yet to decide as to whether they will use the chant “occupy” for the Korean version of the protest.
The Occupy Wall Street movement which has spurred global participation in 22 cities worldwide is now calling for a global action to be held on the same day internationally on Oct. 15, designated as “Occupy Together” day. Currently 8,438 groups in 1,384 cities have decided to participate.
By Yun Suh-young
As the drumbeat of “Occupy Wall Street” is getting louder in the United States, a number of civic groups plan to organize similar rallies in Yeoido, Seoul, the home of financial giants and regulators.
The consumer rights groups, led by the Korea Finance Consumer Association (KOFICA) and Spec Watch Korea, are discussing the details about holding a protest in the “Wall Street of Korea” this Saturday, a KOFICA official said Tuesday.
Baek Sung-jin, secretary general at KOFICA, said their protests will not call for the same things that protesters in Wall Street are asking for but their demands will be locally customized to meet the domestic situation.
“We will mainly call for financial firms to perform as entities for public good, compensation for imperfect sales of financial products and reform in the financial sector,” he said.
Not only civic group members but university students are expected to join the rally as they demand financial authorities to take steps to make financial firms cut interest rates on tuition loans.
They will hold the first protest Saturday as the date is also designated as a global action day by protesters on Wall Street.
The demonstration will likely take place in front of the Korea Exchange or the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeoido, where the major financial companies are clustered.
They have yet to decide as to whether they will use the chant “occupy” for the Korean version of the protest.
The Occupy Wall Street movement which has spurred global participation in 22 cities worldwide is now calling for a global action to be held on the same day internationally on Oct. 15, designated as “Occupy Together” day. Currently 8,438 groups in 1,384 cities have decided to participate.
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