Court`s greenlight on mass rally regrettable but should help keep peace

The second mass anti-government rally following the first one on November 14 is scheduled to be held today in downtown Seoul to oppose the government`s labor reform plans. The police have banned the protest citing fears that it may become violent and hurt public safety as the November rally did. However, a Seoul court overturned the decision, giving the event the greenlight. In a situation where Han Sang-kyun, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) who led the first mass rally last month, is taking refuge at a Buddhist temple in Seoul and promised to stay there until immediately after the second rally is over, Buddhist monks and opposition politicians have vowed to form a human chain for peace. An association of mothers of riot police has declared it will monitor any violent acts by demonstrators. The organizers have also promised a peaceful rally, and the police have agreed not to put container walls around the protesters or pummel them with water cannons.

The Seoul court has reversed the police ban on the protest on Thursday, saying that banning the event just because it is led by the KCTU, the major force in the November rally, meant any rally involving the labor group would never be allowed. As the second rally takes place just three weeks after the first rally and has the same purpose as the November protest that turned violent under the KCTU`s leadership, the police had reason enough to ban it. Still, the court has given the greenlight to the event in consideration of the organizers` promise to hold a peaceful rally.

There is a possibility that the KCTU will refrain from using violence to keep its promise, aware of the public criticism about the first protest. However, it has previous records of habitually holding violent protests. The judiciary has played a big role in nurturing the habit by overturning a police ban on the labor group`s protest every time the organizers filed a complaint. If the KCTU-led rally turns violent again, the court must be held responsible.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has set up a situation room at the Seoul Metropolitan Council building to monitor the rally, while some of its leading members and lawmakers have also decided to participate in the rally. They should not take advantage of the situation to add support to the labor community`s opposition to proposed labor reforms. A peace committee of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism should also end its self-imposed role as a mediator after today`s protest is over. Labor reform issues should be left to the hands of the tripartite commission and politicians. Above all, the Buddhist sect should keep its promise to evict the KCTU leader, who is wanted on an arrest warrant, from the Jogyesa Temple. The fact that the temple is providing refuge for a wanted criminal suspect has put huge burdens on both the state and the Buddhist community. Nothing else will be more desirable if today`s rally ends peacefully and set an example for future demonstrations.