Demonstrations Near Government Complex to Be Banned

From now on, demonstrations and public protests in the area around the Sejong-no Government Complex in Seoul are likely to disappear.

Seoul's Chongno district police station declared that "the law concerning demonstrations and public meetings dictates that public protests in this area will shortly be prohibited." They explained that from May 26 the Panamanian Embassy will be moving into the Hyundai Marchant Marine building in the Chongno district - located near the back gate of the government complex. It is illegal to hold any kind of demonstrations or public meeting within a radius of 100m of foreign government buildings in Korea.

The area around the Sejong-no Complex is a popular site for citizens' or labor unions' demonstrations. Last year, 263 protest meetings or demonstrations were held, with the participation of about 27,000 people.

A source from the police said, "The site was popular with demonstrators because their protests were made very visible to the public officials who use the back gates of the complex in lunch hours."

by Ha Jae-shik