Anti-Trump Protesters Breach Police Line Near Gyeongju APEC, Creating Tense Standoff

[Financial News] A tense moment unfolded near the Gyeongju National Museum, where the summit between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump was taking place. Anti-Trump protesters, who had been holding a rally, broke through the police barricade and advanced toward the event venue.
According to police, around 70 participants in an anti-American rally at Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond pushed past police lines and marched to within approximately 100 meters of the Gyeongju National Museum.
The distance from Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond to the Gyeongju National Museum is about 400 to 500 meters in a straight line. The protesters reportedly evaded police surveillance and ran 200 to 300 meters along a four-lane road to reach the site.
The protesters entered the road after President Donald Trump had already entered the summit venue, so there was no direct confrontation with U.S. security personnel.
Carrying banners reading 'NO Trump, Withdraw Investment from the US,' the protesters clashed with police at one point, but no major injuries were reported.
To prevent protesters from approaching the venue, police deployed around 700 officers to establish a control line and repeatedly broadcast warnings demanding an end to the road occupation.
As a precaution, police vehicles were used to create a barricade on the road leading to the Gyeongju National Museum.
Earlier, at around 12:30 p.m., President Donald Trump arrived in Gyeongju aboard Marine One. He then traveled in his official limousine, Cadillac One (The Beast), to the Gyeongju Arts Center, where the 2025 APEC CEO Summit was being held. At 2:11 p.m., he arrived at the Gyeongju National Museum, the venue for the South Korea–United States summit.
jjw@fnnews.com Jung Ji-woo Reporter