Fines Imposed on Korea Nightlife Food Service Central Association Officials Holding 'Gathering Ban Lift Protest'

Officials from the Korea Entertainment Food Service Association are marching on May 10 last year from LG Twin Towers in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to the Blue House, urging the repeal of the ban on gatherings at entertainment pubs. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] An official of the Korea Entertainment Food Service Association, who was prosecuted for holding an illegal protest in opposition to the government's COVID-19 quarantine measures, was sentenced to a fine in the first trial.

According to the court on the 19th, Judge Park Seol-ah of Criminal Division 24 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced Mr. A, Secretary General of the Korea Entertainment Food Service Association, to a fine of 4 million won on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act and the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Earlier, Mr. A was prosecuted for organizing protests with 50 to 300 business owners in front of Seoul City Hall and the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Jung-gu, Seoul, without prior notification in April and May of last year, demanding the relaxation of quarantine rules.

Mr. A and others held a 5-meter-long banner reading "Don't just talk about equitable quarantine rules! Create new quarantine rules!" or "Pass the Loss Compensation Act!" during press conferences, and were investigated for chanting slogans such as "We can't stand it anymore. Lift the gathering ban." There was also a performance where they wrote blood letters with the message "We want to live too. Lift the gathering ban."

At the time, Seoul City had banned assemblies at Seoul Station Plaza, Cheonggye Plaza, Hyoja-dong Samgeori, and other locations since February 26, 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Judge Min ruled Mr. A guilty, stating, "Holding an assembly without notification at a location where COVID-19 assemblies were prohibited posed a risk of spreading the infectious disease," and added, "The culpability is not light."

However, Judge Min also noted, "The defendant held the assembly to urge appropriate compensation measures and relaxation of the gathering ban as self-employed workers in the entertainment industry were suffering due to the ongoing gathering ban," and considered that "the assembly did not last long, participants dispersed without physical clashes following police orders, and the defendant has no prior record of similar offenses."