Police in the South Korean city of Daegu on Saturday refused to carry out Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s order to shut down an “unlawful” gay pride parade, prompting Hong to demand the police chief’s resignation.
Hong said the parade, which had at least 800 participants, did not secure permission from the city government. He said the event blocked traffic in the downtown area and inconvenienced city residents. Daegu is one of South Korea’s largest cities, and its Dongseongno Street shopping district is among its most popular destinations.
“Permission to assemble does not translate into permission to violate others’ rights,” he said.
“Do the police really serve the country if they block public transit buses on Daegu’s most bustling street and let the protesters’ buses in for the sake of protesters who illegally occupied the street?” he asked.
“I’m not stopping the Queer Festival. I’m just asking them to get permission to occupy the street open for the public and then hold the festival,” he insisted.
Hong demanded the resignation of Daegu Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Soo-young for allowing the gay pride march to cause “inconveniences to ordinary citizens.”
“I can no longer rely on him to ensure public safety in Daegu,” said Hong, adding that he would simply fire Kim if he had the power to do so. South Korean chiefs of police are appointed by the national president.
Hong and about five hundred officials from his government actually turned up at the Daegu Queer Culture Festival on Saturday in a failed effort to physically block festival organizers from entering the “public transportation only” zone where the event was to be held. The much larger contingent of police officers on the scene forced the officials to stand aside so the event could proceed, earning a round of cheers from the participants.
Hong said Chief Kim “suppressed and interfered with the execution of official duties by Daegu city officials, injured said officials, blocked public roads without permission, and essentially hosted a party for queer people.” Some of the city officials who tried to block the queer event complained the police treated them roughly.
“The chaos that will unfold in Korea’s big cities if large-scale parties happen in areas that are off-limits for rallies and without road permits, simply because it’s okay if they’ve been registered, is far too obvious,” Hong warned.
The Daegu Queer Culture Festival has been held in the same area every year since 2009, but this year a merchant in the shopping district and some church groups asked the city’s district court for an injunction against the event because it blocks traffic and interferes with business. The plaintiffs also argued the festival violated commercial zoning laws by selling various goods without the necessary permits.
The Daegu District Court refused this request, ruling that the organizers’ freedom of expression trumped the loss of business to merchants. Under South Korean law, the organizers of a political event are not required to obtain permission from the city, as Hong demanded; they only need to notify the police and provide an estimate for how many people will attend.
“The queer festival was registered, meaning that, according to law, it has to be protected,” said a police official, adding that city permits for occupying the downtown streets were not required.
“Article 74 of the Road Act states that administrative action can be applied in cases of repeated and habitual occupation of roads, or in cases where it is necessary to quickly take necessary measures to ensure road traffic and safety, but this was not the case,” the official added.
Hong disputed the district court ruling, arguing that South Korea’s Assembly and Demonstration Act was never meant to give activist groups free rein to block city streets or disrupt business activities.
South Korean municipal governments are increasingly at odds with queer events, especially in cases where the mayor belongs to the conservative People Power Party (PPP), which also counts sitting President Yoon Suk-Yeol as a member.
Supporters of the queer festivals accused PPP officials of using technicalities to block their events and attempting to gin up “right-wing populism” ahead of next year’s elections. Before Saturday’s confrontation, Hong worried that the queer festival in Daegu could “provoke disgust” among citizens and “expose the youth to an inappropriate sexual culture,” remarks his critics seized upon to discredit his claim that he merely wanted the parade to obtain sensible city permits before blocking a key road.
Another such confrontation is playing out in the capital city of Seoul, where Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP party granted permission to use the plaza in front of city hall for a Christian concert event on July 1 – the date South Korea’s biggest “queer culture festival” has been held in the plaza almost every year since 2015.
The Seoul municipal government said the Seoul Queer Culture Festival and a Christian broadcaster called CTS Culture Foundation applied for permission to use the plaza on the same day, 90 days in advance. Oh said the request from the CTS Culture Foundation was granted because Seoul has a municipal bylaw that states “an event designed for children and adolescents‘ well-being is given priority when multiple applications overlap for the same dates.”