Self-Employed Workers Demand Compensation by All Means Including Collective Lawsuits and 24-Hour Operations

On the 15th, the Federation of Businesses Affected by COVID-19 held a "Government Condemnation Rally" at the Gwanghwamun Citizen Open Square in Seoul and conducted a head-shaving ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Self-employed workers gathered at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul demanded full compensation for losses from the government. They also declared that they would use any means necessary, including class-action lawsuits and ignoring quarantine measures, to secure compensation.

On the 15th, the Korea Federation of Self-Employed Victims of COVID-19 (Koja-chong) held a "Gwanghwamun Rally to Condemn the Government" at the Gwanghwamun Citizen Open Yard in Seoul. About 30 to 40 police officers were deployed at the site, and metal fences were installed to limit the number of participants to under 299. During this process, approximately 100 self-employed individuals who could not enter engaged in scuffles with the police outside the fences.

They criticized the government for excessively infringing on private property rights. They also emphasized that they would pursue class-action lawsuits and legal measures demanding retroactive application of loss compensation. A self-employed person who spoke during the open forum said, "If the current government does not provide rightful compensation for business suspensions and regulations, it will be recorded as the first government in the history of the Republic of Korea to confiscate the private property of ordinary citizens," adding, "Self-employed workers will obtain rightful compensation through class-action lawsuits."

Cheon Sang-hyun, lead attorney at Hwanghae Law Firm, who is handling the class-action lawsuit, said, "We have been preparing the class-action lawsuit for two months," and added, "There is no need to beg the government, and I am confident that self-employed workers will win if they proceed with the lawsuit."

Self-employed individuals who were unable to enter the rally site due to personnel restrictions had a scuffle with the police.

The self-employed declared that if the government does not immediately improve their treatment, they will ignore quarantine measures and operate their businesses starting from the 21st. Co-representative Oh said, "After this social distancing measure, it has become impossible to follow the law any longer," emphasizing, "All self-employed workers have resolved to operate 24 hours a day."

On the same day, the self-employed also held a head-shaving ceremony. Ten people were divided into two groups of five and shaved their heads, and the hair will be marched to the Blue House and delivered.

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