This file photo taken May 11, 2022, shows a barricade erected around the presidential office compound in Yongsan, central Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The ongoing police ban on assemblies and demonstrations within a 100-meter radius of the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, will be maintained until the court makes its final judgment on the matter, the city’s police chief said Monday.
Kim Chang-yong, commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency, told reporters that his agency has signed a contract with a law firm and will make all other possible preparations to ensure that the court will rule in favor of the rally ban near the presidential office.
Kim’s remarks came after the Seoul Administrative Court has recently issued two injunctions to conditionally allow civic activists to hold rallies or march around the presidential office.
The focal point in the litigation is whether the presidential office is included in the presidential residence, where assemblies and demonstrations are prohibited by law within a radius of 100 meters.
Previously, the ban was applied to Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office and residence compound.
With the presidential office and residence separated in Yongsan, however, the court said in its preliminary rulings that Yongsan’s presidential office is not legally equivalent to the presidential residence.
According to police, six lawsuits related to the rally ban are currently under way, and it is expected to take about eight months for the court to make its final judgment.
“The rally ban (near the presidential office) will be maintained until the court makes its final ruling,” Kim said in a meeting with reporters. “We’ve signed a contract with a law firm and will respond well in accordance with the court hearing schedule.”
Separately from the litigation, police plan to start an internal review on whether to amend the current law to meet the demands of various civil society organizations, Kim said.
The police chief also said he will make all possible efforts to minimize inconvenience, particularly noise, to Yongsan citizens due to assemblies and demonstrations near the presidential office.
(Yonhap)
