Deputy Commissioner of National Police Agency "Reviewing Whether Weekend Rally by Minjunochong Violates Assembly Act"... Emphasizes 'Consistent Law Enforcement'

On the afternoon of the 14th, the National Workers' Rally is taking place in front of Yeouido Park, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Regarding the Seoul downtown rally held by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) last weekend, the police are reviewing whether some participants' occupation of the road violated the Assembly and Demonstration Act. In response to criticisms of "selective quarantine" raised by some, the police reaffirmed their strict stance, stating that such claims are "not worth considering."

At a press briefing on the 16th, Police Deputy Commissioner Song Min-heon addressed questions about the KCTU rally, saying, "We are primarily reviewing the Assembly and Demonstration Act concerning the unauthorized road occupation, which is a deviation from the reported plan," and added, "Simple participants are not subject to punishment; only the organizers are."

Deputy Commissioner Song also stated, "Whether the organizers occupied the road, incited, condoned, or aided the act is something that needs to be determined through investigation," and explained, "At present, fact-finding investigations should take precedence over the application of any law."

Furthermore, Song mentioned that violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act are not ruled out, explaining, "There are certain conditions that must be met." This is interpreted as an intention to examine whether the KCTU rally properly complied with quarantine guidelines.

He emphasized that measures for infectious disease prevention will be applied with the same and consistent standards. This appears to be mindful of the controversy over the police's large-scale installation of barricades during the National Foundation Day on October 3rd last month. Song said, "Regarding infectious disease prevention, the nature of the organization or such factors are not worth considering," and added, "Legal procedures will be conducted based on consistent and uniform standards."

He continued, "The scale of assemblies according to social distancing levels is determined by the quarantine authorities, and accordingly, police restrictions or bans on assemblies and demonstrations are issued. Since measures vary by region, it is difficult to unify them nationwide," and added, "We issue instructions based on standards considering quarantine authority guidelines."

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