The Demonstrations Urging the Amendment of SOFA Are Spreading

Since the rallies and press conferences that protest against the death of middle school girls by the US Army armored car is keep continued, the movement that urges amendment of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is getting outrageous day after day.

‘The People`s Countermeasure Committee against the Death of the Middle School Girls by the US Army Armored Car’ had a press conference in front of the US Embassy in Jongro-Gu, Seoul, and proclaimed the day 14th as the ‘Day of Recovering Our Sovereignty.’ And it urged the Korean and US Governments to punish the US soldiers who killed the middle school girls in the Korean Court and totally amend the SOFA, and asked them to answer about that by the 14th.

The People`s Committee, after that, had a rally in front of the Blue House and urged, “The Blue House must withdraw the reforming SOFA policy and ask a direct apology to the President George W. Bush.”

And 7 professors` organizations including the ‘Professors` Association for Democratization’ had a press conference in front of the US Embassy that day and asked to set a fair Korea-US relationship, and 231 professors of the Korea University announced a statement that urges the amendment of the SOFA.

The Korean Young Men`s Christian Association had the ‘Relayed Fasting Prayers of the Young Christians for the Amendment of the SOFA and the Direct Apology of the US President Bush’ rally, and announced that 9 devotees would participate everyday until the 13th.

And the singing group ‘Uri Nara (Our Country),’ which have participated on the candle light rally in Gwanghwa-Mun since the 30th of last month, is having the ‘Street Concert for Hyo-Soon and Mi-Sun’ from that day until the 13th in front of the Duksoo Palace in Seoul.

Hyo-Lim Son aryssong@donga.com