This Month at PSPD

June 2022

Don’t Stop Protests Near the Presidential Office!

Ahead of the Yoon Administration’s first R.O.K-U.S Summit, PSPD has registered to hold a rally near the Summit’s venue in order to voice the South Korean civil society’s advocacy of implementing U.S-North Korea agreements and of peace on the Korean peninsula. However, the police gave notice that the rally cannot be approved since the registered location for the rally – in front of the Ministry of Defence and the War Memorial of Korea – is within a hundred meters of the Presidential Office. The police’s decision is based on an interpretation of ‘Presidential Residence’, a hundred meters from which rallies are prohibited according to the <Assembly and Demonstration Act>, to include the Presidential Office. However, the ‘Office’ which is the president’s official workplace, and the ‘Residence,’ a residential space, are two clearly different concepts. PSPD submitted a request to the court to suspend the police’s decision which prohibits the rally, and the court has since accepted this request. As reaffirmed by the court’s decision to grant rallies near the Presidential Office, the police must retract its policy to prohibit rallies in front of the Office.  

Report on Moon Administration’s Prosecution Service Released!

The Moon Administration placed reforming the prosecution service at the center of their policy initiatives. While reforming the prosecution service was a key talking point throughout its 5 years in power, the public not only did not understand the ultimate objective of the Administration’s plans to reform the prosecution service, but also, at times, felt a sense of fatigue from such efforts. People are also sharply divided on how to assess the ‘half-done reform,’ which has failed to live up to promises and expectations. This report on the prosecution service puts together key cases from the past 5 years and the prosecution service’s investigations into these cases. It also analyzes the Moon Administration’s push for reforming the prosecution service and their setbacks. 

We Demand the Following to South and North Korean Authorities to Respond to the Spread of Covid-19 in North Korea

Covid-19’s spread in North Korea is alarming. From long-lasting economic sanctions and natural disasters, to border closures and the spread of Covid-19, North Korean citizens face mounting difficulties – an extremely concerning situation. To support North Korean people overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, we urge that South Korean authorities cooperate with the civil society organaizations to offer unconditional humanitarian aid, and North Korean authorities respond proactively to these efforts.  

The Democratic Party of Korea Should Terminate Their Party Line on the ‘Real Estate Tax Relief’!

Ahead of local elections, the Democratic Party adopted significantly reducing real estate taxes as part of their party lines. Signs by politicians to offer tax relief, which appear in every election cycle, have encouraged speculative investments. Real estate taxes – especially property holding tax – are not punitive taxes, but a fair means of taxation that reflects one’s relative property holdings. To stabilize the recently overheated real estate market, we are in dire need of normalizing property holding taxes. We have urged for the termination of the Democratic Party’s populist election promise to relieve real estate taxes. 

‘Surviving as an Active Voter in Wonderland’ Game START!

In an ideal election cycle, voters exchange various election-related information, assess candidates and parties based on their promises and policies, and tune into televised debates designed to judge the candidates’ qualifications. However, current election laws extensively limit voters’ political speech and expression. Will voters be able to avoid getting caught by ‘Elections Laws in Wonderland’ and survive to properly judge candidates? Try this game out and participate in our petition to reform elections laws. 

▶ To play the Voter Game bit.ly/38cc5PK

The 7th Refugee Film Festival <NEVER·THE·LESS, TOGETHER> Opens

Despite a long pandemic, ceaseless wars, and chaotic international relations, a countless number of people continue to leave their homes for safety. Co-hosted between the Korea Refugee Rights Network, of which PSPD is a part, and the UNHCR Representative in the Republic of Korea in commemoration of the UN World Refugee Day (June 20), the Refugee Film Festival is a non-profit, pro-human rights film festival which seeks to build solidarity with refugees. Listen to stories of refugees and explore their lives through films, not the news. 

▶ For more information www.koreff.org

Translated by a PSPD Volunteer

Korean Version>>