"Going to Gwanghwamun is Annoying" ... Police and Ruling Party to Revise Noise Regulation Law

Merchants in Gwanghwamun and Jongno Area Complain of Hardships and Inconvenience Due to Rallies
Police and Ruling Party Push for Legal Amendments to Strengthen Noise Regulations on Rallies and Demonstrations

On the afternoon of the 3rd, conservative groups including the Liberty Unification Party held a rally around the Gwanghwamun Sejong-daero intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] To address the inconvenience caused by noise from rallies in the Gwanghwamun area, the police and the ruling party are jointly pushing for legislative amendments to strengthen noise regulations related to assemblies and demonstrations.

Recently, merchants in the Gwanghwamun and Jongno areas have voiced complaints and discomfort due to the rallies. Citizens passing through the area also frown upon the continuous large-scale rallies day after day. On the 22nd, about 130,000 people gathered at rallies held separately by conservative and progressive groups. However, merchants commonly agree that the so-called 'rally special effect' is minimal.

According to the National Assembly on the 27th, Jo Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party, submitted a bill to amend the Assembly and Demonstration Act on the same day.

The amendment includes expanding the subjects required to comply with noise standards from rally organizers to participants, imposing criminal penalties of up to 1 million won in fines on participants who violate orders to stop using loudspeakers exceeding noise standards, and in cases where two or more rallies are held simultaneously at the same location and the source of noise cannot be identified, holding all rallies responsible for the noise and issuing orders to stop using loudspeakers.

There are concerns that punishing participants related to rallies could restrict freedom of assembly. Additionally, voices worry that the noise restriction regulations for 'multiple rallies at the same location' could become a problematic clause, potentially being abused as a means to halt rallies.

There is a critical view regarding the police and the ruling party pushing for similar legislative amendments. Even before Jo’s amendment, opposition parties such as the Democratic Party had proposed amendments related to rally noise regulations, but the amendment announced at the police agency’s forum was released with similar content just one day apart.

Professor Lee Hee-hoon of the Law Department at Sunmoon University, who presented at the 'Assembly and Demonstration Act Amendment Forum for Resolving Public Inconvenience' hosted by the National Police Agency at the Seoul Federation of Korean Industries Hall the day before, proposed an amendment that would introduce a provision allowing criminal penalties if police orders to restrict loudspeaker use are not followed, and hold rally organizers responsible if excessive noise occurs due to multiple rallies held at the same location.

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