On June 21, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, a rally was held under the banner “Down with Imperialism Provoking World War! Victory to the World Anti-Imperialist Struggle!” as part of the June World Anti-Imperialist Joint Struggle. The demonstration was jointly organized by the World Anti-Imperialist Platform and the Headquarters for the Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism.
Chairing the rally, the Secretary of the South Chungcheong Provincial Committee of the People’s Democracy Party (PDP) stated, “As the storm of World War 3, which began in Eastern Europe, sweeps through West Asia and approaches East Asia, the slogan we must raise to protect the dignity and lives of the people of the world—including our own—is ‘Down with Imperialism.’”
She continued, “Imperialism, which is desperately trying to escape its worst-ever political and economic crisis by resorting to world war, is the common enemy of the world masses. The fascist forces in each country, acting as agents of imperialist war, are also targets of our struggle.”
She emphasized, “As Zionist Israel escalates aggression against Iran and deepens the war in West Asia, the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist struggle is a just cause—one that clearly shows who stands with the people. Just as World War 2 ended with the victory of anti-fascist forces, World War 3 will also end in victory for the world anti-imperialist masses. Let us move forward in firm unity under the banner of anti-imperialism.”
Participants chanted powerful slogans :
“서아시아전쟁원흉 시오니즘 끝장내자! (End Zionism, the Main Culprit of the War in West Asia!)”
“3차세계대전 획책하는 제국주의 타도하자! (Down with Imperialism Planning World War 3!)”
“반제반미투쟁으로 제국주의전쟁책동 분쇄하자! (Crush Imperialist War Schemes through Anti-Imperialist, Anti-U.S. Struggle!)”
“<한국>전도발 전쟁화근 미군 철거하자! (U.S. Troops Out! U.S. Forces Are the Root of War in the “Republic of Korea”!)”
“반제기치를 높이 들고 최후승리 앞당기자! (Raise the Banner of Anti-Imperialism and Hasten Final Victory!)”
Lee Jeok, Standing Representative of the Headquarter of the Anti-US Struggle, condemned Israeli aggression, stating, “Netanyahu is a puppet of the U.S. A servant runs Israel, not for the people of Israel, who do not support Netanyahu, but for the U.S.”
He added, “The same goes for the “Republic of Korea” (“ROK”, South Korea). As long as it follows the U.S., no policy can succeed. U.S. policy has no room for peace on the Korean Peninsula because the U.S. survives and benefits only from maintaining division.”
Citing recent joint military exercises by the U.S., Japan, and the “ROK”, he continued, “President Lee Jae-myung, as expected, cannot speak out. Even if he rose to power with the support of the people, without real power, he cannot stand against the U.S. We must fight and win like the peoples of the other oppressed countries. We must reclaim wartime operational control as soon as possible, confront the U.S. once it is regained, and break the military alliance. We must also dismantle the trilateral “ROK”-U.S.-Japan alliance. Sovereignty cannot be achieved without sacrifice.”
Next, Kim In-ja, Vice-Chair of the National Union of Public Service and Transport Workers, condemned Israel’s attack on Iran and stated, “The song we sung from childhood was ‘Our Wish is Reunification.’ For ordinary people, being separated from loved ones without hope of reunion is unbearable. We must inform our people about this issue. Let us share with the world what the people truly want—not the war-making powers of imperialist empires, but genuine peace and the day when North and South are finally reunified.”
Following the speeches, participants chanted, “노동자생존 위협하는 제국주의 타도하자! (Down with Imperialism Threatening Workers’ Survival!)” and “반제반미투쟁으로 노동자민중세상 앞당기자! (Advance the Workers’ and People’s Society through the Anti-Imperialist, Anti-U.S. Struggle!)”
A youth member of the PDP declared, “Israel’s Zionist invasion of Iran is an imperialist scheme to ignite full-scale World War 3 by triggering a war in West Asia.”
She added, “East Asia will follow West Asia, and the spark will be the war in the “ROK”. We, alongside the world’s people, will crush the war schemes of imperialism through joint anti-imperialist struggle and emerge victorious.”
Han Myeong-hui, former president of the PDP demanded that “Israel immediately stop this war that could escalate into World War 3.” She declared, “In the name of the peoples of the world, we strongly demand the immediate cessation of all war schemes by U.S. imperialism and Zionist Israel.” She continued, “Imperialism has launched World War 3 in an attempt to escape its deepest political-economic crisis, branding the DPRK, China, Russia, and Iran as the ‘Axis of New Aggression’ and mobilizing all its resources to establish a new Cold War structure through proxy wars in Eastern Europe, West Asia, and East Asia.”
She stressed, “At the core of this lies NATO. The ‘Pacificization of NATO’ strategy completed its political preparations at the 2024 Washington NATO Summit and finalized military readiness through joint exercises such as RIMPAC. We must launch a strong struggle to dismantle NATO, the command center of World War 3 that threatens to engulf the world in flames.”
She concluded, “Together with the World Anti-Imperialist Platform, which promotes the global anti-imperialist movement, we will defeat the war schemes of U.S. imperialism and Zionist Israel, and actively fight for the dismantling of NATO and the destruction of imperialism. We will continue our struggle to imprison Yoon Suk-yeol, punish the insurrectionist and coup forces, expel U.S. troops, and abolish the National Security Law.”
At the end of the rally, the Platform announced two statements “Platform Statement in The Hague : We will stand at the forefront of the struggle until NATO is dismantled”, “The World Anti-Imperialist Joint Statement in Seoul: Down with the Imperialists Provoking World War 3!”
Meanwhile, ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 24–25 in The Hague, the World Anti-Imperialist Platform is planning rallies and marches in the Netherlands.
After the rally, the march began in front of the U.S. Embassy, passed through Gwanghwamun Intersection, and concluded near the Israeli Embassy.
Participants carried banners reading “STOP ISRAEL’S ATTACK ON IRAN! 이스라엘이란침략규탄!”, “NO TO ISRAEL WAR MACHINE! 이스라엘전쟁기계규탄!”, “미제국주의전쟁책동반대!”, “STOP THE US IMPERIALIST DRIVE TO WAR!”, “세계반제세력승리!”, “DISBAND NATO!”
Drawing the attention of many citizens, participants shouted slogans from the main rally, and chanted additional slogans such as: “이스라엘 이란침략 규탄한다! (We Condemn Israel’s Invasion of Iran!)”, “전쟁기계 시오니즘이스라엘 규탄한다! (We Condemn Zionist Israel, the War Machine!)”, “이스라엘학살지원 제국주의 타도하자! (Down with the Imperialists Supporting Israeli Massacres!)”, “침략전쟁화근 학살원흉 미제침략세력 끝장내자! (End U.S. Imperialist Forces, the Root of all wars and Massacres!)”
The Chair of the PDP’s Special Committee on Anti-U.S. and Anti-War Struggle stated, “Over 55,000 people have lost their lives in the war on Palestine. Now Israel is invading Iran, trying to expand the war throughout West Asia. There can be no justification for war in the face of such mass slaughter. Let us fight against the Zionist Israeli and imperialist forces seeking to ignite a regional war in West Asia and spread the flames to East Asia.”
She continued, “The storm of World War 3 is upon us. When the war in Ukraine erupted in Eastern Europe, whose side did Yoon Suk-yeol’s coup faction take? They sided with the United States and pursued an anti-China, anti-Russia line, and the resulting economic crisis and destruction of livelihoods were borne entirely by our people. If we understand south Korea’s place in the world, we must recognize more than ever the growing possibility of a war in the “ROK” and in East Asia.”
The speaker added, “The ringleader of the coup is strutting around in public. The coup party is shouting down the anti-coup forces and obstructing efforts to restore order. Coup collaborators are embedded throughout state institutions, posing a constant threat of a second coup. In the democratic future that must be built under the rule of the reformist forces, there must be no place for these fascist forces.”
She concluded, “The struggle to purge the coup forces who ally with imperialists and act as shock troops for imperialist war—pushing for fascism and militarism to satisfy their greed—is none other than the struggle to overthrow imperialism. The great struggle of the Korean people to overthrow Yoon Suk-yeol must now advance toward the defeat of imperialism itself.”
Following the march, participants gathered near the Israeli Embassy for a speech rally led by the People’s Democracy Party.
