Police Maintain Decision Not to Prosecute Yonsei University Cleaning Workers for 'Violation of Assembly and Demonstration Act'

The police, after legally reviewing the decision not to prosecute the Yonsei University cleaning workers for violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, have decided to uphold the original decision.

According to the police on the 7th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency maintained the decision not to prosecute, stating that the unreported assembly by the Yonsei University cleaning workers can be regarded as a legitimate act that does not violate social norms. A police official said, "Although the collective action of the Yonsei cleaning workers legally qualifies as an unreported assembly, the illegality is negated under social norms, so we decided to maintain the non-prosecution decision."

Earlier, from March last year for five months, the Yonsei University cleaning workers held protests in front of the student union building during lunch breaks, demanding a wage increase, installation of shower facilities, and additional staffing. In response, three individuals, including students from Yonsei's Department of Political Science and International Relations, filed complaints in May last year accusing them of obstructing business and violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act.

On the 9th of last month, the Seodaemun Police Station ruled that the collective action by the Yonsei cleaning workers, who were accused of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, was not an assembly but a labor dispute within the workplace, and thus decided not to prosecute. However, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted its own legal review, stating that it was necessary to examine whether the labor dispute qualifies as an unreported assembly.