"Yongsan Presidential Office Assembly Ban Illegal"… People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy Wins Again in Second Trial

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) won again in the second trial after winning the first trial in a lawsuit filed against the police's decision to ban a rally by designating the Yongsan Presidential Office as the presidential residence.

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The Administrative Division 6-2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Wi Gwang-ha, Hong Seong-wook, Hwang Ui-dong) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, PSPD, in the lawsuit filed against the chief of the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul to cancel the outdoor rally ban order on the 24th, just as in the first trial. The court did not provide separate reasons for the ruling in court.

In May 2022, PSPD reported that it would hold a press conference and rally in front of the Ministry of National Defense and the War Memorial, advocating for the "implementation of inter-Korean and North Korea-US agreements and peace on the Korean Peninsula," but filed a lawsuit after the police banned it.

The key issue in the trial was whether the "Yongsan Presidential Office" is included in the "presidential residence," which is designated as a "rally ban zone within 100 meters" under the Assembly and Demonstration Act. There was a difference in interpretation after the presidential office and residence, which were previously located together at the Blue House, were separated following the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

The police argued that the presidential office should also be interpreted as part of the residence under the Assembly and Demonstration Act. However, the first trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in January last year, stating that the legal nature of the presidential office and the residence is different.

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