Prohibition of Rallies in Front of the Presidential Office Possible... Enforcement of Revised Assembly and Demonstration Act Enforcement Decree

Police will now be able to ban rallies and demonstrations held on roads near the Yongsan Presidential Office for the sake of traffic flow.

Representatives of the National Parents' Association Alliance held the '10·10 Free Culture Rally' on the 10th near the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, criticizing the revised curriculum. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The National Police Agency announced on the 17th that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration (Assembly and Demonstration Act) containing this provision has been promulgated and enforced. According to the amendment, if the head of the competent police station deems it necessary for traffic flow, they may ban rallies and demonstrations or impose conditions to maintain traffic order on ‘major roads’ in major cities. Eleven roads, including Itaewon-ro and Seobinggo-ro surrounding the Yongsan Presidential Office and the presidential residence, have been added. The intersection near the Seocho-dong court and prosecution office, as well as Gangnam-daero, have also been newly included as major roads. Twelve roads where no rallies or demonstrations have been held in the past five years or where traffic has improved compared to before have been excluded. This revision of major roads is the first in nine years since 2014.

There are also criticisms that this amendment aims to completely block rallies and demonstrations in front of the Presidential Office. Until now, the police have regarded the presidential office as the presidential residence and have blocked rallies based on Article 11 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act, which prohibits outdoor assemblies and demonstrations within 100 meters of the presidential residence. In response, organizers have repeatedly filed injunctions with the courts, and courts have repeatedly ruled that the presidential office cannot be considered the residence.

Similar issues were raised during the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee’s audit of the National Police Agency on the 12th. Moon Jin-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “The police have repeatedly banned rallies at the presidential office, only to have the courts dismiss them, so now they are trying to restrict them through the enforcement decree since it cannot be done by law.” Kwon In-sook, also from the same party, criticized, “This amendment to the enforcement decree goes beyond the Constitutional Court’s ruling last December that the ban on all rallies within 100 meters of the presidential residence was excessive.” In response, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, explained, “The major roads were not added without basis,” and added, “Some have been reduced through the amendment, so overall, the number of major roads has decreased.”

Through this amendment, noise control standards for rallies and demonstrations near residential areas, schools, general hospitals, and public libraries have also been strengthened. The maximum number of noise violations that can be sanctioned for rallies and demonstrations held in these areas has been shortened from ‘3 or more times in 1 hour’ to ‘2 or more times in 1 hour,’ and the average noise measurement time has been reduced from ‘10 minutes’ to ‘5 minutes.’

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