Self-Employed Groups Hold Two Consecutive Night Vehicle Protests
Sudden Gathering in Sangam-dong... Passing Ilsan to Yeouido
Emergency Committee "Collective Action Continues Until Demands Are Met"
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Self-employed business owners opposing the government's quarantine policies continued their nighttime vehicle protests for the second day. The National Emergency Countermeasures Committee for Self-Employed Businesses in Response to COVID-19, a coalition of self-employed groups by industry, held their final vehicle protest on the afternoon of the 16th.
The committee gathered around 11 p.m. the previous day near Nanjicheon Park in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and launched a surprise vehicle protest. In response to police checkpoints, the committee announced the gathering location just before the assembly time. On this day as well, a game of cat and mouse between the police trying to block the gathering and the self-employed caused congestion around the assembly area. The self-employed formed a procession centered on vehicles that arrived first, continuing the protest as they did the day before.
Due to police inspections blocking entry, some vehicles gathered near the second assembly point, KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, even after the originally scheduled end time of 1 a.m. that day. They then moved again to Yeouido, continuing the vehicle protest for about another hour. The organizers estimated that about 1,000 vehicles participated in the protest that day. No arrests or charges were reported at the scene during the second protest, but some drivers participating in the protest were fined for using mobile phones while driving.
On the 14th, they also held a press conference near the National Assembly in Yeouido and conducted a vehicle protest near Hyehwa Station until 1 a.m. the previous day. Both protests ended without major clashes.
The police have classified this protest as illegal and have begun analyzing evidence and reviewing legal grounds. If deemed to have illegal elements, they plan to formally file charges and investigate. The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that while they may consider filing complaints if violations are confirmed during the protest, it is difficult to apply the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act to cases where only one person is in a vehicle during the protest.
Meanwhile, the committee plans to hold a press conference near the Seoul Government Complex in the afternoon and then conduct their final vehicle protest. Kim Ki-hong, co-representative of the Self-Employed Emergency Countermeasures Committee, said, "Even after this protest, self-employed business owners will continue collective actions until their demands are met," adding, "Our anger has reached its peak due to the failure to keep promises made to the self-employed and the refusal to even engage in dialogue."
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