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On the 3rd, when the conservative group announced the urban rally, around 300 police buses were parked in a row around Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to form a ‘car wall’ on the opening day of the festival. To prevent infectious diseases, the police mobilized around 11,000 police forces to control that all citizens entered the square. Reporter Won Dae-yeon [email protected]On the 3rd, the first day of the foundation, controversy intensifies over the pros and cons of the police surrounding Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square and Seoul Square in front of City Hall with police buses to prevent conservative groups from gathering. In the city center. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency maintained its position on the 4th, saying: “We will respond to illegal activities that threaten the life and safety of people with the principle of zero tolerance.” Conservative groups protested, saying: “It was not only an excessive response, but also limited freedom of assembly and association.”
● “Security fence to protect people from infectious diseases”
On the 3rd, the police sent more than 11,000 people from 180 units to surround the square and blocked the passage of citizens. About 500 police buses were installed throughout Seoul, and Gwanghwamun Square and Seoul Square were surrounded by a “wall of cars.” Approximately 300 vehicles were mobilized on the vehicle wall alone. The fire test was also strict. Police checks were carried out four or five times at a distance of about 500 meters from Seoul Square to Gwanghwamun Station on subway line 5.
There were 90 vehicle checkpoints on the highway from the outskirts of Seoul to the center of the city. This was to prevent vehicles from entering the ‘Drive Through’ rally without permission. A police officer said: “There are about 30 ‘unreported’ assembly vehicles that were brought home at the checkpoint that day.”
A checkpoint at the north end of the Hannam Bridge in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, around 10:30 am on the 3rd. When a vehicle bearing the sticker of a conservative group entered the vehicle, the police blocked the entrance. As a result of applying for a driver’s license, he was not a reported participant in the assembly. Police urged the driver to return home, saying: “An order has been issued to ban the gatherings to prevent infectious diseases.” The police explained that barriers and controls were unavoidable. A police officer said: “There were only 19 groups that predicted the rally with more than 10 people on the first day of the year, so we did not know how many crowds would gather,” he said. “It is to protect people’s health rights from the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).” . The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency also said on the 4th: “The opening ceremony ended without a mass gathering. We will continue to respond strictly to illegal activities. “
● “Responding to excessive political purposes that infringe rights”
Conservative groups and others strongly opposed it. The ‘815 Emergency Response Committee’, which was notified of the ban after reporting that it would hold a rally in Gwanghwamun Square on the opening day of the founding day, met in the form of a press conference on the day 3 and accused him of “infringing the freedom of assembly and association”. Choi In-sik, the group’s general secretary, said: “The police even stopped the press conference and there was a fight. It is an illegal law that violates the basic rights of the people ”, and argued that“ injecting so much public power to trap a minority that opposes the current government is an excessive response ”. There were four members of the group who attended the press conference that day, but dozens of policemen were surrounded by them. Citizens who wanted to participate personally in the demonstration also fought with the police everywhere. At around 4pm that day, a man in his 60s in Cheongjin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, was intercepted by 40 policemen while trying to break through a barricade asking, “Why are the police intercepting the sovereignty of the people? ”
In the legal profession, it was also pointed out that it is unconstitutional for the police to block the transit of ordinary citizens by building a wall of buses. “Even if the assembly was restricted for the legitimate purpose of quarantine, we have to consider whether the method was excessive,” said Attorney A, a former Institute for Constitutional Research. I have.”
In 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional, saying: “This is almost a last resort that can be taken in the event of an imminent and serious danger that cannot be prevented by prohibiting individual meetings or dissolution.”
Reporter Lee So-yeon [email protected]
Reporter Godo Yea [email protected]
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