Bill to ban protests near presidential office passes committee, drawing backlash

Shin Jeong-hoon, chair of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, strikes the gavel during a committee meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Nov. 17. Newsis

A bill that would expand no-protest zones to include the presidential office has cleared a key parliamentary committee, triggering backlash from minor parties and civic groups who say it rolls back fundamental freedoms.

The National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee on Thursday approved amendments to the Assembly and Demonstration Act that would ban outdoor rallies and protests within 100 meters of the presidential office.

The current law already prohibits such gatherings within 100 meters of the presidential residence, the speaker of the National Assembly’s residence, the chief justice’s residence and the Constitutional Court president’s residence.

If passed by the plenary, the revision would effectively bar protests near both the current Yongsan presidential office and the office that will reopen at Cheong Wa Dae.

The change is meant to address what ruling bloc lawmakers have called a "legal blind spot" created when the presidential office was moved to Yongsan under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration, separating the office and residence and complicating how police applied existing restrictions.

The bill introduces a conditional exception, allowing assemblies near the office if authorities determine that they will not interfere with official duties, grow into large-scale demonstrations or threaten the functions and security of nearby facilities.

Critics argue this amendment amounts to giving police broad discretion to decide which rallies can take place.

Rep. Yong Hye-in of the minor Basic Income Party voted against the amendment, calling it a "regressive revision" that undermines the freedom of assembly and contradicts the spirit of mass protests that has been a feature of Korean democracy.

She said it was "deeply regrettable that the revision to the Assembly and Demonstration Act introduced by a government that was able to launch only because people risked their safety to rush to the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, is in fact, a bad bill that rolls back the freedom of assembly and demonstration."

Civic group People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy also condemned the bill, warning that leaving decisions to police judgment is unconstitutional and accusing the ruling Democratic Party of Korea of forgetting that past administrations were held to account through citizens’ right to protest.

The committee also passed a separate amendment to the Outdoor Advertising Act that would ban party banners promoting prejudice or hatred against specific groups based on nationality, religion or region.

Lawmakers further endorsed a bill to reinstate Constitution Day, July 17, as a national holiday, along with a revision to the special law on the Itaewon tragedy that would prohibit secondary victimization of the disaster’s victims and bereaved families.

The measures are set to take effect after review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a final vote at a plenary session of the National Assembly.