On the 29th, when U.S. President Donald Trump visited South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, pro and anti demonstrations took place across downtown Gyeongju. Progressive parties and labor, human rights, and environmental groups criticized Trump’s tariff war, his demand for $350 billion in investment, and policies seen as anti rights and anti environment. Conservative groups welcomed the visit, voiced support for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, and called for President Lee Jae-myung to step down.

At around 11 a.m. near Guhwanggyo in Dongcheon-dong, the chant “No Kings (No Kings), No Trumph (No Trumph)!” rang out. It is a phrase that has frequently appeared at recent anti Trump protests across the United States.

The International People’s Action Organizing Committee Against the 2025 APEC, a coalition of 37 groups, held a press conference there and declared, “We condemn Trump, who, under the pretext of APEC, plunders the lives and economies of ordinary people in other countries with tariff bombs.”

They continued, “There are various APEC agenda items, including artificial intelligence (AI), aging, food security, and energy, but all attention is fixed solely on the tariff war of Trump. APEC will end as a one man show by Trump.”

The press conference was attended by Kwon Young-guk, leader of the Justice Party; Lee Jae-dong, head of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Federation of the Korean Peasants League; and Choi Hyun-hwan, head of the Korea Optical High-Tech branch of the metalworkers union. Overseas speakers, including Vijay Prashad of the International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA) and Corazon Pablos, co president of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), also took part.

Vijay Prashad said, “The United Nations has said that remaining silent about the genocide in Palestine amounts to complicity in this massacre,” adding, “Trump is also a war criminal.” Kwon Young-guk also criticized, “The United States is demanding investment from our country and others, and such intimidation is U.S. imperialism using its power to impose plunder and inequality.”

Participants tied a person wearing a Trump mask with rope and staged a performance condemning him by attaching red cards that read “No Trump” and “There is no country for kings.” They also displayed controversial remarks attributed to Trump, such as “Korea is a money machine,” “The climate crisis is a hoax,” and “Immigrants contaminate the blood of America.”

At the former Gyeongju Station, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the National Sovereignty Party each held a rally and a march opposing Trump’s economic policies in the afternoon. The Korea Optical High-Tech branch of the metalworkers union held a march near Yonggang-dong in Gyeongju condemning the Japanese company Nitto Denko.

About 60 people attending an anti U.S. rally near Donggung and Wolji attempted to enter the Gyeongju Museum, where the Korea U.S. summit was being held, but were blocked by police. Those carrying a banner that read “NO Trump, withdraw investment in the U.S.” briefly clashed physically with police, but no injuries were reported.

At around 1:30 p.m. near Naenam Intersection in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju, the Hwandonghae Patriotic Citizens’ Alliance held a “National Rally to Welcome U.S. President Trump to Gyeongju for APEC.” About 500 attendees each held U.S. flags and Taegukgi and chanted, “Long live Trump, long live the USA, long live Yoon Suk-yeol.”

One participant said, “President Trump did not come to Korea for nothing. He came to rebuild our shattered liberal democracy.” At Bonghwangdae Square in Nodong-dong, about 600 meters away in a straight line, the conservative group “Free University” also held a rally of about 1,000 people. The group supported former President Yoon during the impeachment phase and echoes claims of a “rigged election.”

University students wearing jackets that said “President Yoon Suk-yeol” and people in their twenties wearing hats that said “Arrest Lee Jae-myung” continued remarks that stoked anti China sentiment.

Park Jun-young, head of Free University, said, “The person sitting in the presidency now is a fake, a president elected through a fraudulent election,” and shouted, “We must immediately oust the fake president who stole the seat of the real president.”

Police deployed about 8,000 personnel to manage safety at rallies held across Gyeongju that day. They also prepared to mobilize up to around 19,000 officers during APEC. As of that day, a total of 27 APEC related rallies had been reported to police in the Gyeongju area.