Tens of thousands of angry South Korean people, shouting "let's safeguard democracy," staged a candlelight vigil in Seoul Saturday to protest the parliamentary impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday.

The impeachment, pushed through by the nation's two main opposition parties, accused Roh of premature campaigning on behalf of a pro-government party for the April 15 parliamentary elections.

"Impeachment, null and void," shouted the crowd estimated by police at 50,000. Many waved small paper signs which read, "nullify impeachment" or "impeachment makes no sense."

The authorities deployed 7,000 police in the demonstration site in downtown Seoul, but there were no reports of clashes.

Meanwhile, smaller protest rallies were also held in several other provincial cities, including Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon and Chuncheon, local media reported.

It was the second day of mass public protests against the impeachment which many view as a political offensive by the opposition parties ahead of the mid-April parliamentary elections.

Local media reported that various public polls taken after the impeachment showed that more than seven out of every 10 South Koreans believe that the parliamentary move was wrong.

The South Korean Constitutional Court must make decision within180 days from Saturday whether endorse the impeachment or reverse it.

During this period of time, South Korean Prime Minister Goh Kunwill take over presidential rights to manage the state affairs.   

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2004)