Seoul protesters accuse U.S. of meddling in South Korean affairs

About 500 members of progressive civic group Candlelight Action rallied outside the U.S. Embassy compound in central Seoul on Saturday, charging Washington with undermining South Korea's sovereignty over a widening set of diplomatic and security disputes.

The demonstration reflects mounting friction between South Korea's liberal government and Washington on issues spanning K-pop industry regulation, wartime command authority and North Korea intelligence — matters closely watched by Orange County's large Korean-American diaspora, which includes many with ties to both governments.

Participants marched from Jonggak Station to the embassy compound in the Gwanghwamun district before stopping to stage the rally, holding placards condemning U.S. interference, The Korea Times reported. Police issued two warnings over loudspeakers instructing demonstrators to continue marching; no clashes occurred.

The crowd accused the U.S. of "undermining South Korea's sovereignty and interfering in its domestic affairs by requesting that Seoul lift an exit ban on Bang Si-hyuk," according to The Korea Times. Bang chairs Hybe, the entertainment conglomerate behind some of the world's most-streamed K-pop acts.

Demonstrators also charged that the U.S. is "attacking President Lee Jae Myung because Lee has refused to provide support for its war against Iran and is seeking an early transfer of wartime operational control from the U.S.," The Korea Times reported.

Candlelight Action further criticized Washington for restricting intelligence-sharing with Seoul on North Korea and condemned the nomination of Michelle Park Steel — a conservative former Republican lawmaker — as the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea. Controversy surrounding Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's unilateral public disclosure of shared intelligence on an unidentified North Korean nuclear facility also drew condemnation from the group.

Hours earlier, a separate conservative demonstration in the same Gwanghwamun area drew an estimated 6,000 participants, according to police. That rally, led by Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, featured protesters defending former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law.

The dueling rallies in central Seoul underscored South Korea's polarized political landscape as the Lee administration navigates a relationship with Washington under rising bilateral stress.