hankyoreh

which police are not allowed to enter.

Police say they are considering criminal punishment for Christian priests and Buddhist monks who joined the candlelight rallies last week when they held public mass and Buddhist services in front of City Hall in Seoul.

In a press conference on July 7, Han Jin-hee, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said that police will “decide on whether to impose criminal punishment on candlelight protests held in the form of religious events, applying the same standard that applies to other candlelight protests held in the name of cultural performances. We have already collected evidence,” Han said. “If a religious ritual deviates from the realm of ritual, it is illegal. The police will make a decision by undertaking a comprehensive review of the protest situation in its entirety, including the content of chants, announcements and street marches used for the protest.”

In a separate press conference held on the same day, Eo Cheong-soo, the chief of the National Police Agency, said, “Although the law governing demonstrations and protests doesn’t apply to religious events, the law could apply to religious events if the road is occupied for a long time or if the event is held in the form of a sit-in protest.”

Han said police will arrest six activists of the People’s Countermeasure Council against Mad Cow Disease, a coalition of civic groups that have organized candlelight protests, who participated in the demonstrations at Jogyesa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Han said the activists will be arrested “if they come through the line of police officers deployed at the entrance. Still, at this stage, we have no plan to put police officers in the temple unless Jogyesa asks us to do so.” Hundreds of police officers are deployed outside of Jogye Temple to arrest the activists and conduct security checks.

In response, the People’s Countermeasure Council said in a statement released on the same day that police are “suppressing religion, in addition to its violent suppression of protests. Remarks about punishment are the worst insult against religious figures who came to the plaza and joined the people.”

On July 6 and 7, police blocked the plaza in front of City Hall in Seoul to ban citizens from holding candlelight rallies. Eo of the NPA said, “Blocking the plaza in front of City Hall was based on a police decision made under the principle of law and order. In the case of the July 5 protest, police did not block the plaza because there was a religious event that had been organized by four religious groups.”

In the meantime, the People’s Countermeasure Council held a meeting at the offices of the civic group the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and discussed plans to block distribution of U.S. beef. They also talked about focusing on this weekend’s rallies to increase the effectiveness of the candlelight protests, which have continued for more than two months.

Religious groups that had been planning to hold an “emergency mass” and a Buddhist service later this week during the candlelight rallies have decided to delay their plans until the weekend. They will, in the interim, continue to watch for the government’s response to the People’s Countermeasure Council’s requests.

As for the forced demolition of a tent in front of City Hall, known as the “Candle Church Tent” on July 6, the Christian Council against Mad Cow Disease said, “It’s a grave challenge to the Korean churches because the police forcefully demolished it, even though Christian priests had pledged to demolish it by themselves after a final worship service.” To protest the forceful demolition, some 10 activists staged a sit-in protest in front of the office of the Seoul mayor.

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