SEOUL, June 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korean residents and peace activists rallied near the presidential office in central Seoul Thursday to protest against the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the country.

The protesters said that all the procedures of the U.S. missile shield deployment have been abnormal and illegal, given the deployment decision without consent from residents and the parliament, the absence of environmental effect assessment, and the operation and the site construction under the name of "temporary deployment."

The government of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office on May 10, has decided to speed up the "normalization" of the THAAD deployment site.

The protesters said the formal THAAD deployment under the name of normalization would destroy the daily life of residents and peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

They also warned about health issues that might occur as a result of THAAD deployment as among about 100 residents living in the closest village to the THAAD X-band radar, nine residents developed cancers in the past two years.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service