Governing party seeks to unmask protesters

Protesters wearing masks pull ropes to topple a police bus during a rally in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Nov. 14. The ruling Saenuri Party is moving to ban activists from wearing masks to hide their identity. / Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

The ruling Saenuri Party is seeking to revise laws to prohibit protesters from wearing masks during street rallies.

The move is in line with a remark made by President Park Geun-hye, Tuesday, in which she made comparisons between protestors covering their faces to members of Islamic State (IS), an extremist militant group responsible for the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives.

Ruling party members claim that demonstrators tend to become more violent if they are wearing masks.

However, the move has prompted a backlash from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) and civic groups, which say that prohibiting the wearing of masks would violate human rights and the right to freedom of assembly.

Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon of the Saenuri Party submitted a revision to the Law on Assembly and Demonstration, Wednesday. Under the proposals contained in the bill, protesters would be banned from wearing masks that make it difficult for the police to identify them during rallies.

Repeat offenders would be subject to harsher punishments -- prison terms of up to two years or fines of up to 3 million won.

However, there would also be exceptions permitted under the proposed changes -- silent vigils; rallies where participants need to protect their identities such as sex workers; or if people need to wear masks for health reasons.

While the current law punishes only those who possess or use weapons such as steel pipes, firearms, or knives with the intention of using them during rallies, the revised law would also punish those who manufacture, store, or transport such items.

“Freedom of assembly is a basic right guaranteed by the Constitution and thus should be protected. But many assemblies have turned violent,” Jeong said.

According to the National Police Agency (NPA), more than 70 percent of protesters who became violent during the Nov. 14 rally wore masks.

After reviewing video recordings from the scene, police said they confirmed that 594 people became violent but only identified 153 and asked them to appear before police for questioning, because the rest, 441, wore masks or goggles.

“A certain group of people are believed to repeatedly appear during anti-government rallies. Why would they wear masks if they have no reason to hide their identities? If they do not instigate violence, they have no reason not to show their faces,” an NPA official said.

But opposition to the revision is also strong.

“The idea is essentially turning back democracy,” the NPAD said in a statement.

Rep. Jin Sun-mi added that the proposed revisions would unduly punish those who wear masks but do not participate in violent acts. “Some protestors choose to wear masks as a symbolic gesture. Indiscriminate punishment, therefore, will infringe on their right to expression.”

Lawyer Kim Jong-bo, a member of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, said, “The government is using public order as an excuse for to suppress anti-government protests.”