Updated on
Summary
Thousands of protesters gathered near Seoul City Hall shouting anti-globalisation slogans and took part in a rally against the G20 leader summit about to be held in South Korea. Meanwhile, some 200 former South Korean soldiers wore their uniforms and gathered to show their support to the country for hosting the summit successfully. This is a very important event that we're leading the world after more than half a century of painful history. As chair country of the G20, we're here to support as one of the people of South Korea and wish success for the summit, said Kim Hee-soon, chairman of Korea Special Mission Association, a group formed by former soldiers. They mobilized 10 buses with banners reading G20 Seoul Summit and said they will drive the buses on the streets to show their support. Seoul raised its security alert to its highest level due to concerns of violent anti-capitalist protests - a common feature of past G8 and G20 summits - and worries that rival North Korea may try to stage an incident to embarrass it.The summit venue has been cordoned with fences and airport screening has increased. Inside the secured zone, keeping political peace will be a priority for G20 leaders. The leaders are expected to show they have not lost the cooperative spirit forged during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008. On the development agenda, it is a fairly uncontentious issue for G20 countries, although some of the excluded 172 countries do not feel the same.
