Ha Tae-kyung: "Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'Illegal' Legal Interpretation of Park Won-soon's Memorial Altar"

"Police Must Swiftly Investigate Illegal Activities and Punish Those Involved"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the 25th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the Future United Party, stated, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare has effectively responded that the illegal assembly interpretation by Seoul City, which claims only the memorial altar for the late Park Won-soon, former Mayor of Seoul, is lawful, is actually an illegal assembly."

Through a press release on the same day, Representative Ha said, "The government and ruling party, which had threatened that obstructing quarantine is an antisocial crime, have violated the law themselves and are now held responsible for the crime of obstructing quarantine."

Representative Ha explained, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare refuted Seoul City's claim that the Park Won-soon memorial altar is not an assembly subject to the Assembly and Demonstration Act and is therefore permissible," adding, "The Ministry answered that the assemblies prohibited under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act refer to all gatherings, regardless of whether they are assemblies permitted under the Assembly and Demonstration Act."

Representative Ha stated, "As the primary interpreting authority of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Ministry of Health and Welfare responded that since the purposes of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and the Assembly and Demonstration Act differ, assemblies under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act are not necessarily assemblies under the Assembly and Demonstration Act, and that the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act does not classify types of assemblies by referencing the concept of assemblies under the Assembly and Demonstration Act."

Representative Ha added, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare gave the same response to the police," and explained, "Unless the law separately defines the meaning of a specific term, it is interpreted in the commonly understood sense by the general public. The act of setting up a memorial altar at Seoul Plaza and receiving condolences from the public also constitutes a gathering."

Representative Ha said, "The police should promptly investigate the illegal acts related to the Park Won-soon memorial altar based on the Ministry of Health and Welfare's interpretation and punish those involved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.