[Yonhap News Photo ]
Thousands of South Korean rural farmers wearing red headbands staged an angry protest Wednesday to oppose the controversial deployment of an advanced US missile system aimed at intercepting North Korean ballistic missiles.
The rally involving more than 3,000 people, including many elderly farmers wearing red headbands, took place in Seongju, a rural town about 219 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of Seoul, which is home to an air defense artillery unit where the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system will be deployed.
TV footages showed the protesters punching their fists into the air and holding up placards reading "We totally oppose THAAD deployment!". They urged the defense ministry to retract its decision to place a THAAD battery in their village.
At the rally, county head Kim Hang-gon and villagers accused the THAAD battery of emitting strong electromagnetic waves that would affect their agricultural products.
"Due of electromagnetic waves emitted by the THAAD radar, our region may lose its reputation as a major oriental melon producer," Kim said. Military officials dismissed his argument as an excessive worry because the THAAD battery would be deployed in an upland area.
Along with health and environmental problems, the US missile shield sparked concern about China's economic retaliation. Opposition legislators and business groups believe the THAAD system could seriously hurt economic and diplomatic relations between Beijing and Seoul.
Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, however, has ruled out the possibility of China imposing any full-scale economic retaliation against South Korea or a dramatic setback in economic ties between Asia's biggest and fourth-largest economies.
China expressed "strong discontent and firm opposition" immediately after Seoul and Washington made a joint announcement last week that US troops stationed in South Korea would be armed with the THAAD missile shield.
US and South Korean officials stressed the missile defense system would be used solely to cope with North Korean nuclear and missile threats without being directed towards any third-party nations.
Beijing, however, warned the THAAD deployment would "seriously" hurt strategic interests of China and other countries as well as the security balance in Northeast Asia.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
