By Kim Se-jeong
The government issued a stern warning Friday against any illegal activities during a massive rally planned for central Seoul today.
In an unusual joint statement among five ministries, the government warned it will not tolerate "illegal actions" or "violence" during the gathering.
The statement comes from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
According to rally organizers, almost 100,000 people from 53 organizations are expected to take part in the gathering at Gwanghwamun Square.
Prior to the rally, the respective groups will hold pre-demonstrations at various spots including Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza.
They will protest various issues, including labor market reforms, the state-authored history textbooks, the falling price of rice, and youth unemployment.
It may be the largest rally since the candlelit vigil protest against the U.S. beef import deal in 2008, and organizers plan to march toward Cheong Wa Dae, placing the police on high alert.
"We'll take stern measures against illegal collective actions or violence according to the law," Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said in the joint briefing. "We'll locate and arrest those who encourage or lead illegal actions or who exercise violence."
The other ministers also urged protest groups related to their affairs to refrain from illegal acts and defending their own policies.
"If we can't achieve labor reform now, our next generation will have to give up all hope, without chances for employment," said Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon, targeting the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions that opposes the reform plan.
The education ministry urged teachers opposing the state-compiled textbooks not to engage in political activities but be faithful to their duties. And the agriculture ministry told farmers suffering from the falling price of rice that it is devising various measures to stabilize the price.
To cope with the huge number of rally participants and their planned march toward Cheong Wa Dae, police said they would dispatch almost 250,000 police officers and mobilize police buses to "maintain security" at the scene.
Police especially plan to use police buses to block the roads toward Cheong Wa Dae, creating the so-called "bus wall." Civic groups criticize the plan as illegal, saying related laws state using police vehicles as barricades should be the last resort as confirmed by a 2009 Constitutional Court ruling.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee also said earlier this month that it was "concerned about the severe restrictions placed on the right to peaceful assembly (in Korea), including the operation of a de facto system of authorization of peaceful assembly by the police, cases of excessive force, of car and bus blockades and the restriction of demonstrations held past midnight."
Police said they would station police officers near the bus walls to help pedestrians find their way around the buses.
The government issued a stern warning Friday against any illegal activities during a massive rally planned for central Seoul today.
In an unusual joint statement among five ministries, the government warned it will not tolerate "illegal actions" or "violence" during the gathering.
The statement comes from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
According to rally organizers, almost 100,000 people from 53 organizations are expected to take part in the gathering at Gwanghwamun Square.
Prior to the rally, the respective groups will hold pre-demonstrations at various spots including Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza.
They will protest various issues, including labor market reforms, the state-authored history textbooks, the falling price of rice, and youth unemployment.
It may be the largest rally since the candlelit vigil protest against the U.S. beef import deal in 2008, and organizers plan to march toward Cheong Wa Dae, placing the police on high alert.
"We'll take stern measures against illegal collective actions or violence according to the law," Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said in the joint briefing. "We'll locate and arrest those who encourage or lead illegal actions or who exercise violence."
The other ministers also urged protest groups related to their affairs to refrain from illegal acts and defending their own policies.
"If we can't achieve labor reform now, our next generation will have to give up all hope, without chances for employment," said Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon, targeting the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions that opposes the reform plan.
The education ministry urged teachers opposing the state-compiled textbooks not to engage in political activities but be faithful to their duties. And the agriculture ministry told farmers suffering from the falling price of rice that it is devising various measures to stabilize the price.
To cope with the huge number of rally participants and their planned march toward Cheong Wa Dae, police said they would dispatch almost 250,000 police officers and mobilize police buses to "maintain security" at the scene.
Police especially plan to use police buses to block the roads toward Cheong Wa Dae, creating the so-called "bus wall." Civic groups criticize the plan as illegal, saying related laws state using police vehicles as barricades should be the last resort as confirmed by a 2009 Constitutional Court ruling.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee also said earlier this month that it was "concerned about the severe restrictions placed on the right to peaceful assembly (in Korea), including the operation of a de facto system of authorization of peaceful assembly by the police, cases of excessive force, of car and bus blockades and the restriction of demonstrations held past midnight."
Police said they would station police officers near the bus walls to help pedestrians find their way around the buses.
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