By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Demonstrators carrying steal pipes and bamboo spears during rallies will face criminal charges as police seek to revise a bill to crack down on violent protests. Police also warned that they will more tightly regulate the use of megaphones by demonstrators.
The bill for the Protest Law also includes banning protestors from wearing masks to assist with identification and stricter noise control regulations.
The move came out as President Lee Myung-bak vowed to crack down on illegal demonstrations and ordered Eo Cheong-soo, commissioner general of National Police Agency, to review the current law regarding rallies.
However, stricter police reactions have drawn criticism from civic groups and labor unions, citing they threaten the right of people to protest.
Under the current law, it is possible for police to seek criminal punishment for those who use weapons and attack riot police. But as a preventive measure against violent protests, police plan to refer those who carry steal pipes and other weapons to the prosecution.
Also, the proposed bill is expected to allow police to stop an authorized rally if protestors wear masks. The bill also aims to strengthen the level of punishment on protestors who lead illegal activities during an unauthorized rally. Under the current law, protestors can face a jail term of up to two years or the maximum of a 2-million-won fine.
Police also plan to set up stricter regulations on the noise protestors make using megaphones. The bill contains the ban of the use of speakers and megaphones to regulate noisy rallies. The current law states demonstrations must not exceed levels 70 decibels in the daytime and 80 decibels at night.
The Lee administration's strict polices on protests are well demonstrated in recent rallies. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency dispatched 300 specially trained officers to arrest demonstrators involved in illegal acts along with the 15,000 police when thousands of civic group members and students staged a large-scale rally in central Seoul last Friday to protest steep rises in college tuition fees.