Joining candlelight demonstrations itself is a criminal offense?: our view on the excessively strict and political verdict
January 12, 2010
June 17, 2009, we at the KWWA brought a lawsuit against the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to the Seoul Administrative Court to request the 'cancellation of the decision to stop government's subsidies'. Choa Se-jun, a lawyer belonging to the Lawyers for Democratic Society argued the case for the KWWA that had been selected as a NGO in charge of carrying out its project, but its subsidies were stopped in its second term of 2009.
At that time, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security did not reveal its clear reasons for stopping its subsidies to the KWWA, and rejected disclosing its scores against NGOs as a standard for stopping its subsidies. The ministry just replied that it would reject the release of its confidential information, since that would result in disadvantaging the public. However, only after we at the KWWA brought a lawsuit against the ministry, it revealed that the KWWA had been 'a NGO joining illegal and violent rallies' as its reason why it stop its subsidies to us.
In this case, the Division 6 of the Seoul Administrative Court made a decision for the ministry. According to the verdict, "the KWWA took active part in candlelight demonstrations since 2008 when the KWWA joined the People’s Countermeasure Council Against Mad Cow Disease. Joining violent and illegal rallies and demonstrations itself is applicable to a criminal offense."
On the other hand, on December 10, 2009, the Korea Women's Hot Line having brought a lawsuit against the Ministry of Women received a very different verdict. The 14th Division of the Seoul Administrative Court decided "the rejection of subsidies by the Ministry of Women is illegal since the Korea Women's Hot Line cannot be defined as an illegal violent organization just on the ground that it joined the People’s Countermeasure Council Against Mad Cow Disease. There is no proof that the Korea Women's Hot Line organized and led illegal demonstrations, nor was it an illegal organization since its staff has not been punished or actively participated in illegal demonstrations, either."
We at the KWWA doubt about decisions by the court that made very different verdict within a month. The KWWA and the Korea Women's Hot Line are in the same positions because both of the NGOs did not organize or led any illegal and violent demonstrations, nor were their staff persons punished under the Assembly and Association Act. We cannot understand the verdict that sees joining the mad cow disease related candlelight demonstrations in 2008 itself as 'criminal offenses,' from the factual and legalistic perspectives.
The Korea Women's Hot Line filed its case on September 1, 2009 and received the court's decision on December 10, 2009. However, we at the KWWA had to spend 7 months, a far more time compared to the Hot Line: we filed our case on June 17, 2009 and received the verdict on January 8, 2010. Because the Ministry of Public Administration and Security applied for the resumption of its argument in the morning on November 6 when the court was supposed to reach a verdict, court's decision was postponed. Additionally, the unprecedentedly long process was also very doubtful, since the verdict was reached 7 months later.
The 14th division of the court reached the verdict for the Korea Women's Hot Line decides "The government's condition for deciding on its subsidies is just needed to accomplish its purposes for granting subsidies regulated by relevant enactments and budgets. What is irrelevant to the purposes for granting subsidies cannot be qualified conditions."
On the other hand, the Division 6 of the court brought into relief, the justification of the rejection of the subsidies by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. However, "questioning activities and characteristics of subsidies-receiving organization regardless of achieving goals for the grants is a serious violation of freedom of assembly and association stipulated by the constitution." The Division 6 is against the purpose of the Non-governmental Organizations Aid Act, "NGOs' self-regulation should be guaranteed."
The verdict against the KWWA stigmatizes as illegal and violent organizations, 1,862 NGOs joining the People’s Countermeasure Council Against Mad Cow Disease, and further denounces the candlelight demonstrations as illegal and violent rallies. What is worse is that the verdict views all of over one million citizens participating the candlelight demonstrations as criminals. We at the KWWA would like decide to appeal to denounce the crucially faulty decision by the Division 6 of the Seoul Administrative Court and correct the verdict.