2000 People Expected... Empty 'Ghost Rally', Administrative Resources Wasted Headache [Controversial Assembly Act]

② 97% of Rallies Not Held Over 6 Years
Police Face Difficulties Deploying Security Personnel
Limitations in Withdrawing Overlapping Rally Reports Within a Year
No Regulations for Punishing Exaggerated Reports

Editor's NoteThe freedom of assembly and association is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. However, the inconvenience caused by assemblies has clashed with another fundamental right, the pursuit of happiness, creating cracks in public consensus. Some assemblies exploit loopholes in lax laws. Asia Economy examines various controversies and alternatives surrounding the Assembly and Demonstration Act (ADA) over four installments.

On the 6th, in front of a building located in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. A large-scale assembly by a civic group was scheduled from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the vacant lot in front of the building. The pre-registered number of participants was 2,000. However, even after the assembly start time passed, not a single participant appeared on site. Only a container structure with protest slogan panels attached suggested that this was an assembly site. When revisiting the site around 4 p.m., only fallen leaves were scattered in the vacant lot.

Civilians expressed discomfort with the assembly structures rooted in the vacant lot. Han (29), a visually impaired person interning at a nearby company for six months, significantly slows down his walking speed whenever passing by here. The shade created by the structure makes it difficult to secure his field of vision. Han said, "I heard the structure has been installed for about two years," adding, "Visually impaired people are sensitive to contrast and light, and it is very disconcerting because it is dark under the structure."

Such so-called 'ghost assemblies' and 'squatting assemblies,' where assemblies are reported but not actually held, are still rampant. Since their purpose is to disrupt assemblies of opposing groups or to secure locations, there are serious concerns about the waste of police administrative resources.

A protest structure installed by a civic group is placed in front of a building located in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Lee Ji-eun

Only Reporting, No Holding... Ghost Assemblies Rampant

According to data obtained by Asia Economy through an information disclosure request on the 27th, the total number of assembly reports recorded over five years from 2019 to last year was 16,536,005. Of these, 97.5% (16,121,550) were not held. This year, from January to last month, a total of 2,104,230 assemblies were scheduled, but 96.6% (2,032,157) were not held.

Ghost assemblies are interpreted as attempts to block other groups' assemblies or to secure locations. They only report the assembly but do not actually hold it, and when a later applicant appears, they continue a nominal assembly by setting up tents or similar structures.

To prevent such acts, the Assembly and Demonstration Act (ADA) was amended in 2016 to impose fines if a withdrawal report is not submitted. However, questions remain about its effectiveness. Fines can only be imposed when a prior group has reported an assembly and a subsequent group requests to hold an assembly at the same place and time. If the assembly is not overlapping, failure to submit a withdrawal report is exempt from fines.

Police officers complain about ghost assemblies that are reported but not held. When the organizer reports an assembly, police estimate the number of participants and notify the security department, which wastes administrative resources. A police official said, "The organizer often suddenly informs on the morning of the day that the assembly will not be held," adding, "It is difficult to estimate the number of participants multiple times until just before the assembly and then allocate security personnel accordingly."

Reported 1,000 Participants but Only About 20 Showed... 'Inflated Assemblies' Proliferate

Assemblies where organizers inflate the number of participants by hundreds of times to exaggerate their strength also cause a waste of police resources.

In fact, Asia Economy checked six assembly sites reported to have over 500 participants from the 4th to the 11th, and all assemblies had far fewer attendees than the organizers reported. On the 11th, a political group's assembly demanding punishment for politicians had only about 20 participants, far below the pre-registered 1,000. On the 5th, a labor union's protest against wage arrears held in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was reported to have 690 participants but only three people held picket signs.

The problem is that under the current ADA, there is no sanction for exaggerating the number of participants. The freedom of assembly and association is a fundamental right stipulated in Article 21 of the Constitution, so all assemblies operate under a notification system, not a permit system. Therefore, rejecting an assembly report because of inflated participant numbers could be considered an infringement of fundamental rights.

In response, the police immediately reassign security personnel to other sites if there is an excessive deployment. A police official explained, "Reporting the number of participants is a freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, so even if fewer people attend than reported, we immediately reduce security personnel accordingly," adding, "If riot police are excessively deployed compared to actual participants, some units are reassigned to other assemblies that require security."

Experts Emphasize Strengthening Sanctions: "Priority Should Be Taken Away for False Assemblies"

Experts emphasize that to eradicate ghost and squatting assemblies, legal sanctions for false assemblies must be strengthened.

Professor Sung Joong-tak of Kyungpook National University School of Law said, "When squatting assemblies infringe on others' assembly opportunities or cause administrative waste, it is necessary to approach this as an abuse of fundamental rights or abuse of rights under civil law and consider imposing fines," adding, "For organizers who habitually hold squatting assemblies, applying the assembly obstruction crime under the ADA is also an option."

There are also opinions that organizers who repeatedly inflate participant numbers should be penalized. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University Department of Police Science said, "Punishing them unconditionally could infringe on fundamental rights," but argued, "Flexible measures such as lowering their priority in assembly scheduling when a specific group repeatedly reports false numbers are necessary."

Some pointed out that the rigid pre-assembly notification regulations encourage inflated assemblies. Under the current ADA, assembly reports must be submitted between 720 hours (30 days) and 48 hours (2 days) before the scheduled assembly date. Professor Lee Hee-hoon of Sunmoon University Department of Law and Police Science said, "Variables can occur on the day of the assembly," adding, "Sometimes, after reporting an assembly 30 days in advance, changes occur, making it seem like the organizer lied." He advised, "Major advanced countries operate shorter assembly notification periods than Korea, so Korea should also find ways to shorten the notification and withdrawal periods."