PSPD significant activities from January to August 2022

What People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy has contributed in 2022

• We participated in a memorial action for the vulnerable housing groups who were disaster victims due to heavy rainfall. We also criticized that authorities in Seoul would no longer grant permits to construct semi-basement flats without any alternative. We called for comprehensive measures considering the vulnerable housing groups, including residents living in public rental housing.

• “Asia Pod”, the only Asia-specific podcast in Korea that has continued for five years, recently wrapped up season 1 with 100 episodes.

• After completing relentless activities for voters’ freedom of expression, we led to a decision of constitutional nonconformity within poisonous clause 93 and others on the Public Official Election Act.

• We focused on the activities against the establishment of the police administration bureau in the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, which only strengthened the Prime Minister’s political control over the police and compromised the police’s neutrality so that this matter became public.

• We criticized the problems of the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s new tax reform bill, full of favoritism for chaebols and wealthy individuals, and demanded a shift to enable fiscal expansion to overcome the complex crisis.

• We met more than a thousand people gathering in front of the DMZ, a symbol of division and confrontation, and wished for peace by hosting the Peace Festival to End the Korean War.

• We published a prosecution report and suggested legal alternatives: How the investigation and prosecution functions are separated. We are working to block the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s attempt to expand the prosecution’s authority again by approving the enforcement ordinance.

• We launched the “People’s Solidarity for Ensuring Public Care and Realizing the Right to Care” and announced three major demands to guarantee caring as a basic human right and make society rather than individuals responsible for caring.

• We pointed out the unconstitutionality of the police’s policy which bans rallies near the presidential office and received a court decision to suspend the approval of the police’s prohibition notice banning rallies.

• We were in solidarity calling on the government to enact an anti-discrimination act for the dignity and equality of all human beings. Also, we are working together in international solidarity for Democracy in Myanmar and Peace in Ukraine.

• We informed the public of platform companies’ unfairness such as Coupang’s allegation that employees manipulated the reviews of their own brand products, and consistently called for laws to promote the regulation of online platform monopoly and prevent power abuse.

• We attended the shareholders’ meeting of HDC Hyundai Development Company, which obtained dishonor due to frequent accident occurrences, and of KT, which paid a $6.3 million penalty in the U.S., to deliver public criticism by people. Not only that, we drew the result that KT rejected the appointment of the specific person as the director.

• Before the presidential election, we proposed policy agenda to solve inequality and strengthen national responsibility, and evaluated the candidates’ election pledges. Since the launch of the new government, we have evaluated state affairs and personnel matters by field, and have performed activities against unqualified ministerial candidates that present conflicts of interest.