Seoul City Officials Opposing Queer Festival Lose Both 1st and 2nd Trial in Administrative Recommendation Cancellation Lawsuit

'2017 Queer Culture Festival' / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Civil servants who opposed the Queer Festival (a festival for LGBTQ+ rights) held at Seoul Plaza filed an administrative lawsuit requesting the cancellation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's corrective recommendation decision, but lost in both the first and second trials.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 7 (Chief Judge Seo Taehwan) recently dismissed the appeal of 17 Seoul city officials affiliated with a Protestant-related group, including Mr. A, in the appeal trial of the lawsuit filed against the Mayor of Seoul and others to cancel the decision of the Citizens' Human Rights Relief Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). Dismissal means concluding the case without substantive judgment on the grounds that the lawsuit requirements were not met.

The court stated, "This corrective recommendation is merely a suggestion for institutional improvement, and even if it contains an evaluation of the plaintiffs' actions, it is only the Mayor of Seoul's fact-finding and evaluation during the internal policy review and decision-making process," adding, "All are improper lawsuits." The request to issue the decision posted on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's website was also dismissed, as it "does not contain identifiable information and was published to promote public awareness of human rights or the right to know."

Earlier, on May 7, 2019, Mr. A and other civil servants issued a statement opposing the Queer Culture Festival held at Seoul Plaza. They argued that it was not because it was an event for sexual minorities, but because it was an obscene event, and that permission to use the plaza should not be granted.

In response, a Seoul citizen filed a relief request with the Seoul Human Rights Department, citing "discrimination against sexual minorities," and on December 20 of the same year, the Committee accepted the issue. The Committee judged that Mr. A and others arbitrarily assessed the obscenity and degeneracy of the acts solely because the festival was organized by sexual minorities, used unsubstantiated expressions, and that this could lead to discrimination and hatred against the sexual minority group.

The Committee then recommended that the Mayor of Seoul establish a hate response system to prevent hate speech against sexual minorities and other socially vulnerable groups in the performance of duties by Seoul city officials. It also recommended revising the 'Seoul Metropolitan Government Public Officials Service Ordinance' to include provisions prohibiting discriminatory and hateful expressions.

Opposing these recommendations, Mr. A and others filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to cancel the Committee's decision, but the court did not accept it. The first trial dismissed the case, stating, "The corrective recommendation in this case cannot be considered a disposition subject to an appeal lawsuit," and also ruled, "The Committee, which is only an internal organization of Seoul City, made a corrective recommendation to the Mayor, which is an internal administrative act of Seoul City and cannot be considered an act that directly affects the rights and obligations of the public externally."

On May 19, 2019, a rainbow banner symbolizing sexual minorities was hung at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Sejong-daero ahead of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@