National Police Agency to Strictly Respond to 'Xenophobic Rallies'... "Illegal Acts Will Be Prosecuted"

On October 30, the National Police Agency announced that it would respond strictly to rallies and demonstrations involving xenophobic expressions ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

During the rally notification stage, the police assess the risk by comprehensively reviewing the content of the notification and promotional materials. In the on-site response stage, the police gradually strengthen the scale of police deployment and the level of police measures by considering the number of participants, the march route and locations, the level and manner of hate speech, and the organizers' efforts to maintain order. In the post-response stage, the focus is on collecting evidence of illegal acts and conducting swift investigations.

If there are reports of harm such as insults against foreign tourists, the police will provide guidance on procedures through embassies and actively confirm the intent to file a complaint or pursue punishment. In cases where small and medium-sized business operations are disrupted, the police plan to secure victim statements and closely analyze evidence such as CCTV footage and collected materials.

An official from the National Police Agency stated, "Hate speech, in itself, infringes on human dignity and denies the value of specific groups. Referring to the Constitutional Court's decision that prohibition and restriction are inevitable, we will also work to improve social awareness."

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