News / Aug. 30, 2019
Police in the South Korean city of Incheon are set to deploy some 3,000 personnel on Saturday to protect an LVqXeIu*J9yqE2Bir8f$*DAZR%Y@ixfXnmwjUY)kp91l_lNzvA1GBT pride festival and parade.
About 500 people are expected to atte(U)Vt8mWiTDp0%HKk%B8cwzan8OAp#C^%49X(=B&lhdT5$yU)pnd the second Incheon Queer Culture Festival (IQCF) and 1.7-kilometer long pride parade.
Last year, antUW6SQ-s1HJVhPBXf$uo76Y^Rv9=nRy@0x)qH()G%k4=KE0HS+(i-gay protesters physically blocked 300 LGBT supporters from leaving a plaza and beginning the march.
This year, accord3(3gvjY2_b^P@#UtqZ##tv(=4@$@mqtsz21aBrs=o3Rx6=fs_*ing to local media Kyeongin, 3,000 police will protect LGBT attendees and their allies.
They will also install bzZhBqXt3nE)gIB%lBj!t3HS5Z6f8wdp^+7=xfqy5(iDbtf%E8!arriers to separate anti-LGBT protesters from the festival.
Responding to concerns over protests earlier this month, organizers said they had prepared teams of rights activists and lawyers to counter hate grou6Sy5Qs-$=ZnXpz!TJWBBz+7RRK1)M(3%Jb_%uWk@fT$5cW*8w^ps.
Anti-gay hate
Homosexuality is legal in South Korea. But conservative attitudes, especially among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to liveYJ&dYzZl$VcntE2RNHdq6+isNLiU-XQfXA5-wPPHcZrjfvbclg in the closet.
There is currently no discrimination legislat_T!gJ1PBgGex3@eDNi1pB$NL44fGl(n%*cCBiY(&9m0VHw%#gqion to protect LGBTI Koreans.
And, human rights groups have warned, protests against LGBTI events, usually led by conservative Christ*FYL&L1sHpLaNok@xPxgoYr&NJotL5eZJou5%UYaVs-M^)!+V^ians, have become increasingly loud and violent.
Video shared online of last year's IQCF shows distressing scenesC+^Sqc&VHIET@LNXgy2W2jR&UlcK85SVfq)S-r7gqVCSZ-Bpn% of protesters, believed to be conservative Christians, shouting at pride attendees.
They also appear to grab flags, banners, and even attendees. The pride was attended by a lot of young LGBTI South Koreans who were visibly shaken by thrRvizNDbg@2c)j7H!-a@!w@QeONk4d1f8P2K_8m57+G4y)_944e incident.
Police booked eight people involved b!a+Y&i*uTJEYYuUE1qL=U8_p_&H3UZKAyfIzUkeGl*CzQmkM!$ut did not detain them. Organizers accused the police of failing to stop the violence.
