[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A self-employed man in his 30s who held protests against the entry of Chinese nationals in South Korea during the early spread of COVID-19 in China has been sentenced to a fine.
According to the court on the 20th, Judge Park Hyerim of the Criminal Division 13 at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced A (39, male), a self-employed person and YouTuber, to a fine of 2 million won on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act.
Earlier, A was prosecuted for holding an "unreported protest" in front of the main gate of the Chinese Embassy in Jung-gu, Seoul, in February 2020, opposing the Moon Jae-in administration's COVID-19 policies and the entry of Chinese nationals amid the spread of COVID-19 in China.
He shouted slogans such as "The government should ban the entry of Chinese people" and "Self-employed people are dying because of Chinese pneumonia!" while performing 1,000 bows, and it was confirmed that he continuously uploaded videos of himself on his YouTube channel.
During police investigation, A stated, "From January 11 to April 21, 2020, I will do a thousand bows every day," and "When I say I will hold a one-person protest in the messenger group chat, other YouTubers come," revealing that he had informed the protest location multiple times in the messenger group chat. In fact, about ten protest participants stood near A holding placards reading "Ban Chinese entry," counted his bows, and filmed him.
A's side denied the charges during the trial, claiming, "I only held a one-person protest and did not organize a gathering." The implication being that one-person protests do not require separate notification procedures to the police.
However, the first trial court judged that A organized an unreported protest involving multiple participants. It was determined that the people around at the time of the protest had come in response to A's contact, and that the placards and slogans shared similar targets and content of criticism.
Judge Park pointed out, "(Considering the evidence comprehensively) it can be reasonably inferred that the defendant notified acquaintances about holding the protest," adding, "At the crime scene, including the defendant, there were 2 to 3 people wearing protective suits, some holding placards, and YouTubers continuously filming." He further stated, "The sentence was determined considering mitigating factors such as no prior punishments exceeding fines and no previous convictions of the same kind."
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