Kwon Young-guk, leader of the Justice Party, who was indicted on charges of obstructing vehicle traffic and assaulting a police officer during rallies around Cheonggyecheon and Gwanghwamun in 2015, received a suspended prison sentence at the first trial.
According to the legal community on the 9th, Choi Ji-yeon, a single-judge panel of the 9th Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Court, sentenced Kwon to six months in prison, suspended for one year, on 4th last month.
Kwon is accused of occupying all lanes in both directions at the Jongno 3-ga intersection together with 3,000 rally participants, after taking part as co-head of the Nonregular Workers Movement Headquarters in the "resolution rally to block the retrogression of labor market reforms" held around Cheonggyecheon in Jung District, Seoul, on Sept. 19, 2015.
In addition, at the resolution rally held on the 23rd of the same month, the group marched without prior notice, exceeding the number of participants reported in advance. In the process, there is also a charge that, while ignoring 13 dispersal orders by police, Kwon struck a police officer who was dispersing the protest twice on the head with a hand.
Prosecutors indicted Kwon in 2018 on charges of obstructing the performance of official duties, violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, and general obstruction of traffic.
During the trial, Kwon argued that the alleged assault on the police officer occurred while protesting what he said was an improper crackdown on the rally, including the spraying of tear agent, and that his hand and arm touched the officer's head area as he waved his arm to block the tear agent.
In response, the court said, "Although police issued a prior warning to disperse voluntarily, when dispersal did not occur, they sprayed a tear agent using a sprayer under the instructions of a superior," and found that the police performance of official duties at the time was lawful.
It also accepted, based on the victim officer's testimony and video evidence, that Kwon assaulted the officer. The court found the remaining charges all guilty as well, but ruled not guilty on the general obstruction of traffic charge, saying Kwon was merely a simple participant.
The court noted, "Assemblies and demonstrations guaranteed by the Constitution and laws are not absolute rights that can be enjoyed while infringing upon and threatening the national legal order and the freedom of ordinary citizens." However, it said it set the sentence in consideration of factors including that Kwon appears to have assaulted impulsively in excitement at the police's use of the sprayer, the degree of the offense was minor, and he has not since been indicted for similar crimes.