Police forces are stationed near the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of News1
Police forces are stationed near the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

The police are said to be pushing for measures to prohibit civilians from releasing firearms on the day of the ruling regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial. The Constitutional Court has completed the arguments for the impeachment trial of President Yoon but has not yet announced the schedule for the ruling.

According to the police on the 11th, the Korean National Police Agency is reportedly considering a plan to issue guidelines to prohibit the release of harmful animals (birds and beasts) firearms across the country when the impeachment ruling date is designated. This is due to concerns that those opposing the ruling may resort to terrorism or riots using firearms, hence they will not permit the release of firearms.

According to the law on the safety management of firearms, swords, and explosives, even if a civilian owns a firearm, it must be kept at a police station in normal times and requires permission from the jurisdiction's police or local government to be released. Firearm owners usually release firearms during the hunting season from November to February of the following year or when they have a permit for capturing harmful animals to chase wild boars or birds. According to police statistics, the total number of firearms held with police permission by individuals and corporations last year was 106,678.

The Seoul Police Agency is reportedly considering a plan to track the real-time location of firearm owners via the Global Positioning System (GPS) of their mobile phones on the day of the ruling. Under current law, firearm owners must submit a consent form for location information collection to be able to release firearms. The Seoul Police Agency is also discussing measures to reassess the purpose of use for those who received firearm and sword possession permits in the past two months, or to check the mental health history of those possessing more than two firearms.

The police also completely banned the release of firearms for harmful animal salvage during the impeachment ruling of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.