Representatives from various civic groups in the Republic of Korea (ROK) held a rally in front of the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul on Monday morning to protest against the third "Summit for Democracy," which runs from Monday to Wednesday in the city.

The protesters shouted slogans such as "Oppose the Democracy Summit," "Democracy Summit spreads false democracy" and "Condemn the Yoon Suk-yeol government for blindly following the value alliance with the U.S. as center." They also held placards reading "Oppose the U.S. hegemony" and "Oppose the new Cold War confrontation policy."

Representatives of civic groups participating in the protest took turns to deliver speeches, accusing the U.S.-led summit of promoting "false democracy," using democratic slogans to promote Cold War-style diplomacy and pushing international relations toward camp confrontation.

The protesters lamented that although the U.S. claims to be democratic, yet it acquiesces in Israel's slaughter of Palestinians, ignoring the fact that many civilians are starving and dying.

The protesters also condemned the Yoon government's blind adherence to the U.S. foreign policy, saying that the ROK government's foreign policy has ignored national interests and led the ROK into a diplomatic dilemma with neighbor countries.

(Cover: The third "Summit for Democracy" kicks off in Seoul, ROK, March 18, 2024. /CFP)