Controversy Over Gwanghwamun 'Barrier'... Police Chief Says "Inevitable Choice to Minimize Contact"

1000 Police Officers Deployed for National Foundation Day Rally Undergo Preemptive Diagnostic Testing
Regarding Unconstitutionality Controversy, "There Are Precedents Allowing Installation in Unavoidable Situations"

On the morning of the 3rd, National Foundation Day, police buses lined up on the Gwanghwamun road in Seoul to block sudden rallies and protests. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] On the 3rd, National Foundation Day, controversy arose over the police's decision to completely block access to downtown Seoul by installing 'barriers' to prevent illegal rallies by some conservative groups. In response, the Commissioner of the National Police Agency stated that it was an 'unavoidable choice.'

At a press briefing on the 5th, Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong emphasized, "It was an unavoidable choice to minimize concerns about the spread of infectious diseases that could be caused by direct contact."

Commissioner Kim said, "Preventing prohibited rallies from actually taking place was an important task from the perspective of infectious disease prevention and law enforcement," adding, "While focusing on preventing unreported illegal rallies, we also considered ways to minimize contact to secure public health rights and reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

On National Foundation Day, the police set up 90 checkpoints at entrances to Seoul city and installed police bus barriers from Gwanghwamun to Seoul City Hall to completely block rally participants from entering downtown.

Regarding this, Commissioner Kim explained, "We decided and implemented measures such as installing police lines at the scheduled rally locations and police barriers on major roads to minimize contact between protesters and police, as well as between protesters and ordinary citizens."

Commissioner Kim also stated, "There were movements to forcibly attend rallies at some locations, and about 1,000 police officers who played a role in blocking them are scheduled to undergo proactive COVID-19 testing today." Previously, eight police officers deployed at the Liberation Day rally were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

In response to criticism that police barriers were ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2011, he rebutted by saying that there is also precedent allowing the installation of barriers under certain conditions in unavoidable situations.

Commissioner Kim reiterated, "The police will never tolerate prohibited or unreported rallies being openly held," and emphasized, "We will devise the best measures to prevent illegal rallies and minimize the spread of infectious diseases. If such measures are necessary on days like National Foundation Day, we will do the same on Hangeul Day."

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