At the ‘People’s Rally’ rally held on the 15th by the National People’s Action, comprised of the National Federation of Trade Unions (KCTU), etc., it was observed in many places that the quarantine rules for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were not followed.
The union members stood at various places in Yeouido Park, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where the rally was held, drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes together with their masks down. In public restrooms or on the outskirts of parks, it was easy to find people sharing food while sitting with their masks half-down. They moved so close that their shoulders touched each other.
A 37-year-old office worker in Yeouido, Kim, said, “I was going to the park with my children and saw a crowd of people gathering, so I was worried about the Corona 19 infection and rushed out.” Organizers said that about 15,000 people gathered for the rally that day.
○ Large-scale gathering in 20 minutes
The assembly on the 15th of the National People’s Action, which consisted of the Federation of Trade Unions, the National Federation of Farmers’ Associations, and the Korea Progressive Solidarity, was an assembly that was prohibited from holding in accordance with the Infectious Disease Prevention Act and the Assembly and Demonstration Act. Initially, the National People’s Action reported to the police that it would hold a rally in 44 places in downtown Seoul at 2 pm, with a gathering of less than 299 people, the upper limit of the current quarantine rules. However, the police found that the 44 rallies were in fact large-scale rallies and issued a ban on holding them. In fact, a large crowd gathered in the park in about 20 minutes when the National People’s Action surprised the announcement of the venue for the general uprising around 12 noon to Yeouido Park. According to the current social distancing rules, if only those who have completed the vaccination participate, the assembly can be attended by up to 299 people.
In particular, after reporting to the police that they would hold dozens or hundreds of small gatherings, the ‘report of splitting’ of holding one large-scale assembly is repeated. The Confederation of Trade Unions held four rallies with more than 8,000 people in July, October, and November of last year, and all of them reported ‘splitting’. Each time, the police issued a notice to ban the assembly, but each time it was ignored.
The police response is limited to post-punishment against the organizers. Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the KCTU, who led the rally in July last year, was charged with violating the Infectious Disease Prevention Act and sentenced to one year in prison (with two years of probation), but the large-scale rallies continued after that.
The Confederation of Trade Unions and the progressive camp are not the only ones holding ‘rallies in violation of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act’. Earlier, on August 15, 2020, a conservative group held a Liberation Day rally with 5,000 people, 50 times more than the original reported (100 people), causing controversy.
○ “Protesters must follow quarantine guidelines”
Some argue that restricting the freedom of assembly stipulated by the Constitution should be prudent.
According to the National Police Agency, there were at most dozens of assemblies in 2017-2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, but 4,380 in 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak spread, according to the National Police Agency. From January to November last year, there were 4985 cases. The National Police Agency’s Human Rights Committee also expressed its opinion in November last year that “rather than unconditionally preventing assemblies and demonstrations, we should come up with a way to guarantee the holding of assemblies on condition that they comply with quarantine guidelines.”
However, there is a strong atmosphere within the police that if quarantine guidelines are not followed at the assembly site as on the 15th, a tough response is inevitable. A police official in charge of responding to the assembly said, “If the holding of an assembly that violates quarantine guidelines is repeated, the police have no choice but to limit the holding of the assembly in advance and investigate illegal activities.”
Correspondent Jo Eung-hyung yesbro@donga.com
