Police File Appeal Against Ruling Allowing Demonstrations Near Yongsan Presidential Office...

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The police have decided to appeal the court's ruling that interpreted that assemblies are allowed near the Yongsan Presidential Office.

On the 31st, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it decided to appeal the first trial loss in the lawsuit to cancel the ban on assemblies around the presidential office.

The police stated, "The first trial court seemed to focus on the dictionary meaning of the official residence, but there are opinions within the legal community that the legislative intent and historical interpretation should be emphasized," adding, "We decided to appeal to seek a higher court's judgment on the scope of the presidential official residence."

On the 12th, the Administrative Division 13 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-dae) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy against the Yongsan Police Station to cancel the outdoor assembly ban order. The court explained, "It concluded that the presidential office cannot be interpreted as included in the presidential official residence as defined in Article 11, Clause 3 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act."

On March 29 last year, the Yongsan Police Station notified the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, which planned an assembly in front of the presidential office in line with the Korea-US summit, of the assembly ban. At that time, the police interpreted that the presidential office is also included in the official residence subject to the assembly ban within 100 meters under the Assembly and Demonstration Act.