Organizers of the Daegu Queer Culture Festival held a press conference at the square in front of the former central police station in Jung-gu, Daegu on the 3rd to explain the festival plans. Photo by Baek Kyung-yeol,
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, ‘Regarding the recent restrictions on the location of the Daegu Queer Culture Festival, the festival organizing committee has filed for a preliminary injunction in court, claiming that the police’s actions were unfair.’,
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, ‘The Daegu Queer Culture Festival organizing committee announced on the 19th that they have applied for a temporary injunction in Daegu District Court regarding the police’s outdoor assembly restriction notice.’,
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, ‘The committee explained the purpose of the application, stating, “There are irreparable damages that cannot be recovered due to the assembly restrictions, and there are no reasons for the assembly restrictions. Furthermore, there are no significant concerns that the assembly will have a major impact on public welfare.”‘,
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, ‘Earlier, on the 4th, the Daegu Central Police Station issued an assembly restriction notice to the festival organizing committee. The notice stated that “out of a total of 2 lanes in the public transportation-only zone, one lane and some sidewalks can be used.”‘,
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, ‘At that time, the police announced their plan to open the remaining lane to ensure the pedestrians’ right of way and allow public transportation to operate on the day of the festival. In response, the festival organizing committee released a statement on the 13th, stating that the assembly restriction notice is effectively a ban and expressing concerns about the safety of the thousands of participants crowded onto the sidewalks.’,
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, ‘The Daegu Queer Culture Festival has been held using two lanes at the same location since 2019. The committee argues that it is unsafe to have participants on the sidewalks with the risk of clashes between attendees, opponents, and pedestrians. They also raise concerns about the potential accidents from buses passing by on the adjacent lane.’,
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, ‘The festival organizing committee stated, “The restriction notice that does not guarantee a proper assembly but only causes inconvenience to citizens seriously infringes on the freedom of assembly and demonstration, and is an unfair administrative execution by the police that poses a serious threat to the safety of assembly participants.”‘,
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, ‘On the other hand, groups opposing the Queer Culture Festival are planning to hold counter protests near the festival venue. The police plan to deploy personnel on the day of the festival to prevent clashes between the opposing groups.\n’]