Seoul City requests police keep out far-right party's tents

Supporters of the far-right minor opposition Our Republican Party gathers at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul after erecting their tents, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it has requested police to protect facilities at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul in its effort to clear out the tents set up by the Our Republican Party and prevent its members from erecting more.

If police accept the local government’s request, they will provide security for the whole area, not only to prevent tents from being set up by the party.

“After Seoul City removed the tents, party members re-erected them. Also, they hold rallies at weekends so we cannot confirm exactly when the whole situation in the square will be back to normal,” a local government official said.

Observes note that this is Seoul City’s last option to prevent the far-right party from continuously setting up tents.

It had reportedly considered applying for a court injunction to ban the party from erecting the tents, but dropped the plan due to its perceived ineffectiveness.

Ordinances forbidding political rallies in public venues have not been strictly enforced until now, and many expect the Our Republican Party to continue to ignoring any bans.

The city official said if the police accept its request, the city government will discuss how long the police will provide security at the public square.

The Our Republican Party, formerly, the Korean Patriots Party, first erected two tents and a covered area in the square last month to commemorate members who died during a protest against the impeachment of ex-President Park Geun-hye in 2017.

Forty-six days after this, 900 municipal officials and hired workers removed the tents early Tuesday morning.

However, the far-right party members returned to the public square and set up 10 tents, calling for the release of the jailed Park.

Both Seoul City and the Our Republican Party have filed lawsuits against each other over violence that occurred during the initial removal of the tents.