Endless Protest Confrontation in Front of Moon-Yoon Residences... The True Face of 'Conflict Politics'

Protests in Front of Current and Former Presidents' Residences Escalate into Political Faction Conflict
Prolonged Protests Cause Suffering for Nearby Residents
Experts Say "Division and Fandom Politics Are a Symptom of Its Harm"

A 24-hour rally held on the afternoon of the 14th in front of President Yoon Seok-yeol's residence located in Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] As protests continue in front of former President Moon Jae-in's private residence in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, and counter-protests take place in front of President Yoon Suk-yeol's home in Seocho-gu, Seoul, the inconvenience and dissatisfaction among nearby residents are growing. Many point to the political sphere as largely responsible for the protests escalating into conflicts between conservatives and progressives. The criticism is that the partisan logic of "my side is right, the other side is wrong" has led to an extreme situation filled with abusive language and shouting.

Residents of the Acrovista Apartments, where President Yoon lives, filed a petition with the police on the 22nd requesting restrictions on the use of loudspeakers during protests in front of the apartment. Jung Won-heon, the representative of the residents, visited the Seocho Police Station that day and said, "Since the protests are authorized, there is no authority to ban the protests themselves, but we submitted a petition asking for restraint in the use of protests and high-performance microphones as normal life is impossible and students, children, and the elderly are inconvenienced."

The progressive-leaning YouTube channel 'Seoul's Voice' has been protesting in front of President Yoon's residence for nine days since the 14th of this month. As conservative groups continue their protests in front of former President Moon's Yangsan residence, and President Yoon stated "Follow the law," effectively indicating difficulty in imposing sanctions, 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' style counter-protests have been launched.

Seoul's Voice demands an apology, claiming that President Yoon has neglected to stop the protests in front of former President Moon's residence. Baek Eun-jong, the representative of Seoul's Voice, said on the 20th, "This rally has no set end date," and stated that they will not stop until the protests in front of former President Moon's residence end.

A banner protesting the rally has been hung by village residents in Pyeongsan Village, Jisan-ri, Habuk-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam, in front of former President Moon Jae-in's private residence. / Yonhap News

At former President Moon's Yangsan residence, conservative groups have also been protesting for over 40 days. Yangsan residents are reportedly suffering severe mental distress due to the protesters' shouting and abusive language. Recently, Go Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who visited the former president's residence, wrote on Facebook, "No matter where you are in the residence, you could clearly hear obscene language. Whenever the noisy chatter paused for 2-3 seconds, their abusive language pierced through us."

As the protests prolong, the damage is directly affecting nearby residents. However, under current law, there is no proper way to stop protests in front of the residences of current and former presidents. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees all citizens freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association. Preventing assemblies held outside designated prohibited zones under the Assembly and Demonstration Act (ADA) could infringe on freedom of expression. Article 11 of the ADA designates prohibited zones for assemblies within 100 meters of the National Assembly, courts, Constitutional Court, presidential residence, and official residences of the National Assembly Speaker, Chief Justice, Constitutional Court Chief Justice, and Prime Minister.

There is debate over whether President Yoon's Yongsan office can be considered the 'presidential residence' under the ADA's prohibited zone. Recently, the court ruled that the presidential office in Yongsan is a workplace, not a residence. The private homes and residences of current and former presidents are also not considered prohibited zones. However, since the Yongsan presidential office separates the workplace and residence, unlike the former Blue House, some argue that the term 'presidential residence' in the ADA should be interpreted broadly to address this confusion.

In this regard, seven bills to amend the ADA were proposed in the National Assembly between April and June this year. The People Power Party proposed a bill to ban assemblies and protests within 100 meters of the presidential office, while the Democratic Party proposed including the residences of former presidents as prohibited zones for assemblies and protests.

However, some voices criticize the political sphere for the protests escalating into conflicts between conservative and progressive camps. Regarding the protests in front of former President Moon's residence, the opposition criticized President Yoon's remark "It will be handled according to the law" as neglecting the 'abusive language protests.'

There are also criticisms that the lack of political tolerance toward opposing camps has caused such conflicts. Choi Jin, director of the Presidential Leadership Institute, analyzed, "Former President Moon also caused controversy by calling the actions of his ardent supporters, such as text message bombings, 'seasoning.' The protests in front of the residences of current and former presidents are not much different from the confrontational politics that the political sphere has practiced toward each other. Attacks and provocative remarks toward each other continue even now. This is a facet of divisive politics and the harms of phantom politics."

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