Hong Jun-pyo "Daegu Police Chief Must Be Replaced"... Clash Between Police and Daegu City Over Queer Festival

Mayor Hong to Hold Emergency Press Conference on the Morning of the 17th

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, raised his voice in criticism on the 17th, even mentioning the "replacement of the Daegu Police Chief," over the clash between the police and administrative authorities during the preparation process of the Daegu Queer Culture Festival.

On the same day, Mayor Hong stated on his Facebook, "Illegally occupying public roads without permission and blocking citizens' freedom of passage while even receiving police escort is illegal in itself," and added, "I hope the Daegu Police Chief, who defended such actions and caused inconvenience to citizens, will be replaced."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo is speaking at the site of the administrative enforcement of the Daegu Queer Culture Festival held in the public transportation-only zone in Jung-gu, Daegu, on the morning of the 17th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

He continued, "It is difficult to trust such a Daegu Police Chief and entrust the security of Daegu to him any longer," emphasizing, "If it were a fully autonomous local police era, I would have immediately dismissed him."

The police organized traffic in the morning around the Daegu Jung-gu public transportation-only zone to allow the stage vehicle of the Daegu Queer Culture Festival to enter the event site as scheduled. In this process, they clashed with Daegu city officials who were trying to prevent illegal road occupation.

The police reportedly judged that assemblies within the scope of freedom of assembly can be recognized as having justifiable reasons under both criminal and administrative law even without road occupation permits. Furthermore, based on court precedents stating that administrative enforcement is illegal unless there is a clear threat to public peace and order warranting forced dispersal of the assembly, the police did not block the installation of the stage by the Daegu Queer Culture Festival side.

In response, Mayor Hong said, "It is not about preventing the queer festival, but even if it is held, they should obtain road occupation permits," emphasizing, "The courts of the Republic of Korea do not rule to allow illegal road occupation protests. Even during protests, the infringement of others' legal interests should not occur."

He added, "In a democratic society, strict punishment should be imposed if there is traffic obstruction, property damage, or assault during protests," and criticized, "Which country's police are these who block bus traffic on the busiest street in Daegu without permission and allow protest trucks to enter illegally occupied roads to defend illegal road occupation protests?"

Earlier that day, Mayor Hong held an emergency press conference near Banwoldang Intersection in the public transportation-only zone, pointing out, "The police pushed our officials and restricted bus traffic to protect illegal road occupation protests."

Mayor Hong also said, "Allowing protest trucks that illegally occupy roads to enter while tying up citizens' feet is aiding illegal road occupation," and added, "We had several prior consultations with the police, but I cannot understand how the Daegu Police Chief interprets the law this way. If it were the police of the Moon Jae-in era, they might have done so, but times have changed. The era of rampant illegal assemblies is over."

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