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Recommendation to improve Notices on Prohibition of Assembly and measures to prevent demonstrations [2007] KRNHRC 31 (30 December 2007)

On November 7, 2006, the Commission held a forum participated by experts and
interested parties with the theme of "Problems with Notices on Assembly Prohibition and
Measures to Improve the Current Notice System" to determine whether notices on
prohibition of assembly and measures to prevent demonstrators from being gathered in
Seoul violated the human rights of demonstrators. On December 30, 2007, it held a public
hearing on "Notices on Assembly Prohibition and Preventive Measures" to listen to
opinions of experts in each field. In addition, it collected statistical data on demonstrations
and 582 Notices on Assembly Prohibition from police stations and analyzed the data and
notices for about two years.

After the investigation, the Commission found that Notices on Assembly Prohibition
and measures to prevent demonstrations were too excessive and in violation of human
rights. It recommended that the Chairman of the National Assembly and the Minister of
Justice abolish or revise laws related to Notices on Assembly Prohibition and the
Commissioner-General of the Korea National Police Agency improve police practices to
ensure that human rights of demonstrators are not violated, even before relevant laws are
revised. The recommendations are as follows:

The provision to prohibit assemblies to be held in the place where a party already
reported to hold an assembly that day (Article 8.2 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act)
is being misused to deliberately prevent assemblies reported later. Even if two or more
parties plan to assemble at the same place at conflicting times, the police is capable of
controlling disruptive activities using other measures such as Notices on Assembly
Limitation. Therefore, the Commission recommends that Article 8.2 of the Assembly and
Demonstration Act be abolished.

Considering the importance of the freedom of assembly and demonstration, the
provision on Notices on Assembly Prohibition for road traffic (not Notices on Assembly
Limitation) (Article 22 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act), which prohibits
assemblies or demonstrations from the beginning in the name of preventing traffic
congestion, is too excessive. The police can effectively control activities disrupting order
using other measures such as Notices on Assembly Limitation. Therefore, the Commission
recommends that Article 12 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act be abolished.

The police misuses the Provision to Prohibit Assemblies and Demonstrations that
Threaten Public Order (Article 8.1 and Article 5.1.2 of the Assembly and Demonstration
Act) to give Notices on Assembly Prohibition to people who have a record of organizing
illegal demonstrations in the past, in order to prevent them from holding an assembly or
demonstration again. The Commission recommends that the police base their decisions on
whether a demonstration or assembly poses a threat to society at the time when it is
actually held, instead of referring to past records.

However, a minority opinion was that issuing notices on assembly prohibition and
enforcing measures to prevent demonstrations were necessary, considering that a lot of
illegal or violent assemblies and demonstrations were held in Korea.