Gov't to ban large-scale rallies in city centers

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The government will effectively ban all massive outdoor
rallies in urban downtown areas in a bid to stamp out violent protests by labor
and civic activists, government officials said Wednesday.

The government also announced it will punish all participants in illegal and
violent street demonstrations strictly in accordance with the law after Prime
Minister Han Seung-soo presided over a meeting of security-related Cabinet
ministers.
The decisions came after some 7,000 labor activists violently clashed with riot
police in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, over the weekend, leaving
154 people injured and 99 police buses damaged.
Protestors' use of potentially lethal weapons, such as bamboo spears, during the
clash grabbed both local and international headlines and prompted President Lee
Myung-bak to express deep concern about the rally's violent nature and negative
impact on the nation's external image.
Twenty activists have so far been placed under arrest for using bamboo sticks
that were reportedly sharpened into spears to use against police during the
Daejeon rally.
"The government will more sternly deal with illegal demonstrations and strikes in
order to firmly establish the rule of law," Prime Minister Han was quoted as
saying at the ministerial meeting.
"The culture of violent and backward demonstrations should be swiftly eliminated
in order for Korea to improve its sovereign brand image and leap to the ranks of
advanced, first-rate countries," said Han.
Under the measures approved at the ministerial meeting, all large-scale rallies
will be basically prohibited in downtown areas of Seoul and other major
provincial cities, and all participants in violent rallies will be thoroughly
tracked down.
The current law on assembly and demonstration empowers the authorities to ban all
outdoor rallies to avert illegal activities, such as violence and traffic
disruptions.
Following the government meeting, the Justice Ministry and police again vowed to
further widen their probe into the Daejeon incident to detain all participants
involved in the use of lethal weapons and file a civil compensation suit against
rally organizers.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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