South Korea: Anti-G20 protesters

Tens of thousands of activists rallied for labour rights and secure jobs in Seoul yesterday before this week's G20 summit.

Trade unionists and their allies - numbered by organisers at 40,000 - chanted slogans and sang songs at Seoul Plaza outside the city hall, surrounded by thousands of riot police.

Activists wore vests with slogans reading: "Against the G20 that hampers labour rights and creates unstable jobs" and "Against the G20 that cuts social welfare and destroys public services."

Others held up mock traffic signs saying Stop G20, while campaigners distributed leaflets urging people to "rise up against neoliberalism and globalisation."

A representative of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, which helped organise the protest, vowed to "continue the struggle to raise the minimum wage and solve the youth unemployment issue."

Hundreds of protesters tried to march towards the city centre in defiance of police warnings, pushing and shoving against police riot shields. Police used pepper spray to disperse the demonstrators.

Thousands of others staged a candlelit rally at Seoul Plaza, surrounded by buildings draped with huge banners heralding the November 11-12 summit.

Union activist Lee Chang Geun accused the G20 of failing to formulate meaningful measures to curb speculative financial capital and of pushing cuts in public spending on social welfare.