Although Park received the world's attention back in October for declaring that he wanted South Korea to be the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, it seems that the mayor has since caved into criticisms from Christian communities that demanded that he retract his statement or else be impeached. As many consider Park to be a potential future presidential candidate, it's possible that Park decided to give in to these demands in order to appease the masses. According to LGBT activists, Park had reportedly told a group of pastors, "As the Mayor of Seoul, I do not support homosexuality."
As a result, Park has delayed signing a human rights charter due to a clause regarding the homosexual population. According to the charter, a person can no longer be discriminated against based on "sexual orientation or sexual identity." The charter was drafted by a Citizens Committee of 164 experts and was meant to be signed on December 10, the date of the internationally celebrated Human Rights Day. Seoul Municipal Government (SMG) has announced that the signing of the charter will be delayed indefinitely due to conflict over the gay rights clause.
Rainbow Action, which represents twenty LGBT groups, are showing a firm stance in opposing the mayor's decision. They maintain that the goal of the sit-in is to persuade the mayor to sign the charter by December 10. They also call upon the international community to email and tweet the mayor to sign the charter.
Protester Nah Young Jung commented, "Seoul Citizens' Human Rights Charter was made democratically. From the LGBT standpoint, the Seoul mayor has to guarantee protection of the rights of all citizens." Another protester Jang Byong Kwon stated, "Until we meet [the mayor] the sit-in will continue."
News coverage of the sit-in can be viewed here:
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