Gov't to ban large-scale rallies in city centers
- 관리자
- 2009.05.22
- Hit 4521
The government also announced it will punish all participants in illegal and violent street demonstrations strictly in accordance with the law after Prime Minister Han Seung-soo presided over a meeting of security-related Cabinet ministers.
The decisions came after some 7,000 labor activists violently clashed with riot police in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, over the weekend, leaving 154 people injured and 99 police buses damaged.
Protestors' use of potentially lethal weapons, such as bamboo spears, during the clash grabbed both local and international headlines and prompted President Lee Myung-bak to express deep concern about the rally's violent nature and negative impact on the nation's external image.
Twenty activists have so far been placed under arrest for using bamboo sticks that were reportedly sharpened into spears to use against police during the Daejeon rally.
"The government will more sternly deal with illegal demonstrations and strikes in order to firmly establish the rule of law," Prime Minister Han was quoted as saying at the ministerial meeting.
"The culture of violent and backward demonstrations should be swiftly eliminated in order for Korea to improve its sovereign brand image and leap to the ranks of advanced, first-rate countries," said Han.
Under the measures approved at the ministerial meeting, all large-scale rallies will be basically prohibited in downtown areas of Seoul and other major provincial cities, and all participants in violent rallies will be thoroughly tracked down.
The current law on assembly and demonstration empowers the authorities to ban all outdoor rallies to avert illegal activities, such as violence and traffic disruptions.
Following the government meeting, the Justice Ministry and police again vowed to further widen their probe into the Daejeon incident to detain all participants involved in the use of lethal weapons and file a civil compensation suit against rally organizers.
From YonhapNews(http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)