Court to Decide as Early as Today Whether to Suspend the Ban on the March 1st Movement Rally

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court decision on whether to temporarily suspend the enforcement of the ban on the March 1st Independence Movement Day rallies is expected as early as the 26th.

The Seoul Administrative Court held three separate hearings on the suspension of execution requests filed by the Free Korea Patriotic Corps and the Christian Liberty Unification Party, who opposed Seoul City's ban on rallies. The rally applicant groups reportedly argued during the hearings that "there is a lack of scientific evidence that rallies contribute to the spread of COVID-19, and Seoul City is exaggerating the risk based on the number of confirmed cases." On the other hand, Seoul City reportedly countered by saying, "We did not ban rallies unconditionally but imposed restrictions on the number of participants in stages," and "If a reasonable plan to comply with quarantine rules is presented, we will not ban the rally unconditionally."

The respective courts concluded the hearings that day. Accordingly, a decision on whether to grant the suspension of execution is expected as early as that afternoon. Previously, the Free Korea Patriotic Corps applied to hold a March 1st rally near Gyeongbokgung Station, the Christian Liberty Unification Party near the Blue House Sarangchae, and the Korea Righting Movement Headquarters near Gwanghwamun. However, when Seoul City issued a ban based on quarantine guidelines and rally restriction notices, these groups each filed administrative lawsuits and requested suspension of execution.

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