Court: Police Cannot Ban Rallies and Events Near the Presidential Office Residence

The court has once again ruled that the police cannot ban rallies and marches near the Presidential Office.

The Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 1 (Chief Judge Kang Dong-hyuk) ruled on the 12th in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the civic group People Opening Peace and Unification (Pyeongtongsa) against the Yongsan Police Chief, canceling the order prohibiting outdoor assemblies.

Pyeongtongsa had notified the Yongsan Police Station the day before that they planned to hold a press conference and march around the War Memorial and the Ministry of National Defense area near the Presidential Office from 12:30 PM to 8 PM on May 12 last year, around the time of the South Korea-US summit.

However, the police notified the group of a ban the next day based on Articles 11(3) and 12 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act. The Act prohibits outdoor assemblies and demonstrations within 100 meters of locations such as the President’s residence and the Speaker of the National Assembly’s official residence.

Earlier, in January of this year, the court also ruled that the police’s order banning assemblies near the Yongsan Presidential Office, considering it as a residence, was unlawful.

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