Police Interfered for Seats at Assembly Held Near the Board of Audit and Inspection

Right after the Constitutional Court announced the prohibition of an assembly within 100 meters of foreign legations was a violation of the constitution, it has been revealed that the police issued a notice of assembly in order to selectively preoccupy seats at the assembly held on October 30 in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

Kim, a member of the Jongro District Council, said on Tuesday that he received a call on October 30 from intelligence officials at the Jongro police station asking for a notice of assembly in front of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), where the Vietnamese Embassy is situated.

“We called to request a ‘defense-purpose’ notice of assembly because the BAI is close to Cheong Wa Dae and we wanted to take precautions,” Jongro police explained, adding, “But Kim said he was occupied so we signed the notice on his behalf.”

The company under dispute after the Constitutional Court’s decision is Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd., and is under the suspicion that police aided it in providing a seat at the assembly for them, behind the American Embassy. Daelim arrived at the reception desk later than other firms and yet was still given a spot.

Companies swarmed the assembly in Jongro, and applicants were accepted on a “first come-first served” basis, but Daelim was permitted a seat despite not going through any application procedures.

On the notice of the admissions sheet, police recorded Daelim to have applied at 3:40pm, 30 minutes before they even arrived at the venue, at 4:10pm.

“At the time, the place was pretty hectic, and one of our workers made a mistake by not recording Daelim when they arrived. That’s probably why the time written was different from the real time, but we did not give Daelim any privilege above others in the admission,” officials at Jongro said. Daelim personnel also mentioned, “We applied in accordance with the legal procedures after receiving a call from the police.”

Cho Dae-yup, professor at the Department of Sociology at Korea University, pointed out, “Our society will end up facing more conflicts if assemblies and demonstrations, protected by the constitution, are taken over by the police, blocking public opinion and the people’s right to speak.”

In-Jik Cho Sun-Woo Kim cij1999@donga.com sublime@donga.com