Supreme Court Rules "Police Dispersal Order Illegal During Hanjin Heavy Industries 2nd Hope Bus Protest"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A metalworkers' union official who was indicted for leading the 2011 Hanjin Heavy Industries Hope Bus rally received a partial acquittal from the Supreme Court. This result came from the court ruling that the police's order to disperse the rally at the time was unlawful.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dong-won) on the 14th overturned the original sentence of 6 months imprisonment with 2 years probation given to metalworkers' union official Lee, who was charged with violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, obstructing general traffic, and violating the Act on Punishment of Violent Acts (joint trespassing), and remanded the case to the Busan District Court.

Lee was indicted for disobeying the police's dispersal orders and obstructing traffic during five Hope Bus rallies held from June to October 2011, which called for resolving the issue of mass layoffs at Hanjin Heavy Industries. The first and second trial courts found most of Lee's charges guilty. However, they acquitted him of the fourth Hope Bus rally, judging that it could not be considered an unreported rally and that Lee was unlikely to be the organizer for that event.

In particular, the Supreme Court judged that it was difficult to find Lee guilty regarding the second Hope Bus rally held on July 11, 2011. Since the police did not notify that the dispersal order was based on the rally being 'unreported,' the dispersal order itself was deemed unlawful.

Previously, poet Song Kyung-dong was also prosecuted for planning the Hope Bus rally, but the verdict was overturned once for the same reason as Lee. After the retrial, Song's sentence of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment with 2 years probation was finalized in January 2019.

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