Fate of nighttime rallies uncertain

About 300 trials put on hold on stalled law revision

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff reporter

With the law banning nighttime rallies having been ruled unconstitutional by the nation's highest court last year, the judiciary and police have been scrambling to deal with its fallout.

Courts have suspended deliberation on trials brought by the prosecution against those who staged rallies at night, while the National Assembly has failed to come up with alternative legislation due to sharp differences between the governing and opposition parties.

In September last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the current law banning nighttime gatherings violates the spirit of the Constitution, ordering the Assembly to revise the law in accordance with its ruling by June 30, 2010.

Previously, protest rallies after sunset were prohibited under the law governing mass rallies and demonstrations. This law will go void and null following the Constitutional Court's ruling, leaving no legal grounds for prohibiting nighttime rallies unless a revised bill is passed by the end of June.

However, political parties have failed to iron out their differences over the issue. The governing Grand National Party (GNP) wants to prohibit outdoor rallies from 10 p.m. till 6 a.m., while the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) wants to lift a time restriction on nighttime gatherings.

Following the highest court's ruling, some lower courts have issued different verdicts on trials involving people who organized nighttime rallies and thus broke the law.

But most courts across the country have put on hold such trials until the end of this month to see how the legislative body handles the matter. There are over 300 legal cases pending at the Seoul Central District Court alone.

If the current law is not revised by the June 30 deadline, nighttime rallies will be allowed in an outright manner.

It means that those who were charged with staging gatherings at night will likely be exonerated as the law will become invalid from July 1.

Additionally, individuals who were previously found guilty will likely be cleared of the charge if they petition for a new trial.

If lawmakers come out with a revision, the fate of those who are on trial will be mixed in accordance with the new law.

Rep. Cho Jin-hyeong of GNP has submitted a revised bill to the public administration and security ministry for passage. It bans outdoor rallies from 10 p.m. till 6 a.m.

But another revision advocated by Rep. Kang Gi-jung of DP allows individuals and organizations to stage outdoor rallies at all times with a few exceptions. Organizing gatherings will be banned in residential zones, and areas adjacent to schools and the National Assembly hall from midnight through 6 a.m., according to DP's revised bill.

The ruling and opposition parties have in principle agreed to make efforts to pass a revised bill at a session next week but it remains uncertain whether they will be able to successfully compromise.

If they fail to pass a revised bill on nighttime rallies, the police will have no legal grounds to ban demonstrations after dusk. The current law stipulates that those who violate the law be imprisoned for a maximum of one year or fined 1 million won or less.

야간 옥외집회 재판, 헌재 판결 이후 혼란

작년 9월 헌법재판소가 야간 옥외집회 금지 조항에 대해 헌법 불합치 결정을 내린 이후, 사법부와 경찰이 그 후속 조치를 처리하는데 안간힘을 쓰고 있다.

국회는 헌재가 정한 6월 30일까지 개정안을 통과시켜야 하며, 현재 야간 옥외집회 사건 300여건이 서울중앙지법에 계류 중이다.

30일 이전에 개정안이 통과되지 못하면 24시간 집회가 전면 허용되며, 야간집회로 기소된 모든 사건이 무죄 확정될 확률이 크다.

한나라당과 민주당은 이 문제를 놓고 첨예하게 대립 중이다.

한나라당 조진형 의원은 현재 일몰 후에서 일출 전까지 금지되어있는 조항을 오후 10시부터 다음 날 오전 6시로 바꾸는 개정안을 내놨다.

반면 민주당은 몇 가지 예외사항을 제외, 24시간 옥외집회를 허용해야 한다는 입장이다.