Metropolitan Council announces revised ordinance
The Seoul Metropolitan Council on Monday announced a revised ordinance allowing all forms of assemblies to take place at Seoul Plaza without prior approval from the city administration. The rule went into effect immediately.
The announcement came as the Seoul Metropolitan Government strongly opposes the opening of the plaza to demonstrators. The city government is considering filing an administrative litigation to nullify the ordinance passed twice by the council, which is dominated by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Despite concerns that the ordinance may cause “chaos” at the plaza, the council is determined to push the rule. The council Chairman He Kwang-tai made the rule official by posting the ordinance on the council’s bulletin board.
“Seoul Plaza at the heart of the capital city is a sacred place of Korean democracy. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered there to denounce authoritarian administrations in the past and it has become a place of harmonization and peace. We hope the skeptics will realize that more than 10 million Seoulites have always been mature and will always be,” the statement said.
It said Seoulites have given majority council seats to members of the opposition Democratic Party with a hope to put the brakes on the one-sided policies pushed by the ruling Grand National Party.
“It is our duty to allow the free use of the Seoul Plaza to all people and guarantee the constitutional rights of the people to assemble without restriction.”
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vetoed the ordinance for the second time earlier last week. He said the revision conflicts with a higher-level law that obliges pre-screening of the use of public assets.
“Large-scale assemblies at the plaza could be dangerous, risking the safety of pedestrians as well as drivers since protestors often occupy car lanes. Also, the plaza is too close to the U.S. Embassy: the current law bans gatherings within 100 meters of diplomatic institutions,” a city spokesman stated.
The administration also stated that the majority of citizens desire to enjoy the green area without noisy clashes of ideology and this makes it logical to insist on tightening the screening process.
There have been attempts by so-called liberalists to use the plaza, but the administration has barred them by staging state-run concerts and other cultural events. Some conservative groups have managed to gain approval to use the space several times, but the administration made it clear that the plaza will be used for “non-political” purposes.
The council pushed the passage for the second time citing the civil right to assembly. The revision was supported by 100,000 citizens, who collected signatures to submit to the council last year. Chairman He’s announcement Monday follows a pertinent rule allowing the council chairman to make the announcement in case the mayor delays to do so within five days from the council’s request.
The city government said it will file an administrative suit against the council with the Supreme Court.
Credits :Koreatimes
By :Bae Ji-sook
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