Seoul City removes far-right party's tents in Gwanghwamun Square

Officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and hired workers tear down tents illegally set up by the Our Republican Party at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Tuesday, clashing with party members and its supporters. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

The Seoul Metropolitan Government removed tents, Tuesday, which had been put up illegally by a far-right minor opposition party in Gwanghwamun Square protesting the imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye.

However, the Our Republican Party, put up new tent on the same spot just five hours later, indicating a possible clash between it and the city government in the near future.

According to the city government, 500 municipal officials and 400 hired workers raided the spot at 5:20 a.m. to remove two tents and a canopy installed by the party.

The party, which changed its name the previous day from the Korean Patriots Party, set up the tents May 10 for sit-in protests calling for an investigation into the deaths of five pro-Park supporters who died during a 2017 rally against the impeachment of the former president. Seoul City has been sending letters of notification to the party to remove the tents set up without its permission.

The officials and workers clashed with 400 party members and supporters, who tried to protect the tents after a city official read out a notice on the execution of an administrative order.

The party members and supporters resisted by throwing water and empty plastic bottles at the officials. They also tried to push away the city officials when the removal work began, which ended up being ineffective. One party member even used a fire extinguisher against the hired workers.

An hour later when the removal of the tents and their contents was almost finished, some of the party members and supporters lay down on the ground to prevent any further action.

However, the site was cleared by 7:20 a.m.

Fifty people were hurt and transferred to a nearby hospital but none were injured seriously, according to the city government and emergency authorities. Thirty of them were party members and 20 were workers.

Police detained three people ― one worker who threw a fire extinguisher at the protesters and two party members who attacked officials and police officers.

The city government said removing the tents cost 200 million won, including payment to the workers, and it would seek the money from the party through legal action.

Separately from the expense, it has fined the party for occupying the square illegally. The fine was calculated on the cost of renting space in the square which is 12 won per square meter during the day and 16 won at night, according to a city ordinance. The total fine is about 2.2 million won.

About five hours after the removal, however, the party set up three tents in the square. Calling the city government's action an “act of violence,” the party members said they would continue to protest for the release of Park.