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Demonstrators may be banned from covering faces
By Yi Whan-woo
President Park Geun-hye denounced Tuesday a massive anti-government protest held in Seoul, Nov. 14, saying she will "not tolerate any illegal and violent demonstrations."
During a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Park vowed to stop demonstrators from wearing masks and covering their faces after unidentified protesters clashed with police during the country's largest street protest in more than seven years.
The President warned that terrorists hiding behind face masks could blend with civilians in a rally amid growing concerns that Islamic extremists could target Korea following the deadly attacks in Paris, Nov. 13.
"There is a body of evidence that civic activists who have consistently waged illegal and violent protests also led the violent demonstration on Nov. 14," she said.
"It's intolerable that such protests took place here, considering inter-Korean tensions still remain across the border and the whole world is in mourning over the increasing number of victims of terrorist attacks.
"Given that the extremists of the Islamic State (IS) group hide their faces, we should ban demonstrators from wearing mask in the future."
This was the first Cabinet meeting since Park's return from her 10-day overseas trip that ended Monday. She attended a series of multinational summits, including the G-20 in Turkey and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in the Philippines.
Some 70,000 anti-government demonstrators, including farmers and union members, initially rallied in various locations in Seoul near City Hall on Nov. 14.
They protested against the Park administration's conservative policies, including business-friendly ones and a decision to publish state-authored history textbooks.
Dozens of the protesters were later arrested and injured as they clashed with police who fired tear gas and water cannons.
"I urgently convened the meeting today because I decided that no country can be safe from terrorism," Park said.
The President called for prompt passage of anti-terrorism bills to counter any possible attacks, citing the arrest of an Indonesian citizen on a forged passport. According to intelligence authorities, the Indonesian is suspected of following a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida.
Korea has deported a total of 48 foreigners who were either affiliated with international terrorist groups or identified as security risks in recent years.
"I hope that you will make best efforts to protect people's lives to ensure bills related to terrorism, which have been held up for 14 years, are passed this time," she said.
The ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers have sought to pass the anti-terrorism bills for the past few years.
But opposition lawmakers have been against the bills, claiming they are aimed at giving too much power to the spy agency to monitor suspects.
Those legislators also have protested that the National Intelligence Service could use its authority to conduct surveillance on civilians while abusing such powers for political purposes.
