15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival: Standoff between Police and Administrative Authorities

2023-06-17 05:57:02

The 15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival is being held at 12 noon on the 17th in the public transportation zone in Jung-gu, Daegu. Reporter Kyuhyun Kim

From the morning of the 17th, the 15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival was held in an unusual confrontation between the police and the administrative authorities. The 15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival was held as scheduled from 12:00 noon on the same day in the public transportation zone in Jung-gu, Daegu. About 500 employees of the Daegu City Hall and Jung-gu Office came to the site for administrative execution in the public transportation zone in Jung-gu, Daegu, where the festival was held this morning. This is because the organizers of the festival did not obtain permission to occupy roads in the transit mall. The Daegu Police Agency deployed a total of 1,500 people, including 1,300 police officers from 20 companies and 200 traffic police and general staff, from 7 a.m. on the same day. While the city of Daegu has decided not to take measures to bypass city buses, the police are providing traffic guidance to general drivers, such as detour measures, and to prevent clashes with anti-festival rallies and notices of administrative execution by City Hall and Jung-gu Office. Daegu City Hall officials blocked the event vehicle with their bodies at 9:25 am and confronted the police for about 30 minutes. The confrontation between the police and the administrative authorities ended at 12:00 noon, right before the event started, when the officials left on their own. A Daegu city official hinted, “It is the first time that the police and civil servants are in conflict.”

On the morning of the 17th, Daegu City officials are confronting police officers who are directing traffic to enter the Daegu Queer Culture Festival host stage vehicle in the public transportation zone in Jung-gu, Daegu City. yunhap news

At one time, Daegu City Hall officials blocked the road with a banner hung by the Dongseong-ro Merchant Association, and citizens protested, saying, “Isn’t it embarrassing?” On the placard they held, the phrase “Strongly opposes the Daegu Queer (Homosexuality) Festival that arbitrarily blocks public transportation for 10 hours” was written on it. Amugae Kim (51), a Daegu citizen who saw this, said, “The public officials were carrying the spread curtains that the merchant association had put on the roadside. Ashamed of themselves, they later stepped on the part where the name of the merchant association was written and hid it. I am so ashamed of Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who pours out hate and discriminatory remarks against minorities while having public officials lined up.” Oh Eun-ji (52) also said, “The market’s political calculations discriminate against LGBTI people and make hate speech itself, which is very upsetting. As a Daegu citizen and a parent of an LGBTQ child, I am very displeased.” When the festival was able to proceed as scheduled, the festival participants applauded and cheered, saying “We won” and “Daegu police are cool”. Kim Seon-joo (39), who attended the festival, said, “I watched with anxiety as to whether the event itself could proceed safely, but she helped the police to safely hold the festival. Thank you so much, it’s a hot day, but I’m happy just to be in this space,” she said. Jeong Eun-ae (60), a member of LGBTQ Parents’ Association, said she came from Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. The Daegu Queer Festival can be held more successfully than ever before,” she said.

On the afternoon of the 17th, at the 15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival in Daegu City’s Jung-gu public transportation district, a participant shows off an amulet with “Queer Jackpot” written on it. Reporter Kyuhyun Kim

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo visited the scene this morning and said, “I will hold the head of the Daegu Police Agency accountable for causing the civil servants to collide. Police shoved officials and restricted bus traffic to protect illegal road-occupation protests. The court ruled that there were no restrictions on assemblies and demonstrations, but it did not order them to occupy public roads that were not permitted to occupy.” He said, “I consulted with the police several times, but I can’t understand how they interpret the law this way. A police officer in the era of Moon Jae-in would have done that, but the world has changed. The era of illegal gatherings is over,” he added. Daegu City has defined the queer culture festival as ‘illegal’, but there are responses that Daegu City’s measures are unreasonable. The Daegu Police Agency Public Officials Workplace Association released a statement on Mayor Hong’s remarks that day, saying, “Mayor Hong argues that road occupation is illegal apart from the legitimacy of the assembly, but road occupation is illegal for assemblies that do not obtain permission to occupy the road after reporting the assembly. The judgment that we cannot see is a consistent attitude, such as court precedents. Obtaining permission to occupy roads when holding assemblies that have been legally reported can change the assembly reporting system into a permit system, which can violate the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Constitution and the law,” he said. He said, “I wonder why someone who is a former prosecutor and knows the law better than anyone else is doing this. The Daegu Queer Festival was first held in 2009 and has been largely managed safely for 15 years. Mayor Hong emphasized, “Don’t hurt the honor and pride of the Daegu police any more.”

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo is encouraging public officials who are administering the Daegu Queer Culture Festival in the public transportation zone in Jung-gu, Daegu on the morning of the 17th. yunhap news

In a phone call with the Hankyoreh, a police officer said, “Queer festivals must be legally reported and accepted and protected legally. Even if a road occupation permit was not obtained, it cannot be a legitimate reason (for administrative vicarious execution). Looking at the special case for the application of administrative vicarious execution under Article 74 of the Road Act, if it is necessary to repeatedly and habitually occupy a road or to take necessary measures quickly to secure road traffic and safety, administrative vicarious execution can be carried out, but this is not the case.” . The Jung-gu branch of the Daegu Regional Headquarters of the National Public Officials Union, made up of officials from the Jung-gu Office, also issued a statement on the 16th, saying, “It is the judgment of the Constitution and the court not to block legally reported assemblies, and the police will also control traffic for the safety of citizens, but only Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo They are pampered by mongni, spitting out the words of this discrimination and hatred. Daegu City continued to pressure the Jung-gu Office through the deputy district chief to immediately remove booths and other facilities once they were installed at the event venue. The public servants union resolutely opposes the forced mobilization of employees, and the public servants union will take the lead in stopping the enforcement of administrative vicarious execution.” Bae Jin-gyo, head of the organizing committee for the Daegu Queer Culture Festival, said, “When we met the anachronistic head of the administration who does not recognize diversity, we confirmed that the damage, such as the violation of basic rights and the threat to safety, suffered by citizens is too great. She will hold the city of Daegu legally accountable for obstructing assemblies and abusing administrative powers,” she said. “The statement from the public servants union was an unexpected comfort, and it really gave me a lot of strength. It is very regrettable that public officials who should guarantee the safety of citizens by Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s arbitrariness were mobilized to the scene of violating basic rights.” On the other hand, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo has posted on his Facebook page several times since the 8th that he opposes the queer festival. On the 15th, the 20th Civil Division of the Daegu District Court (Judge Kim Kwang-jin) dismissed an application for a provisional injunction to ban the assembly filed by the Dongseong-ro Merchant Association and the Daegu Christian Federation against the Organizing Committee for the 15th Daegu Queer Culture Festival.