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Lawmaker seeks to restrict use of Taegeukgi
By Rachel Lee
The Taegeukgi, the national flag of Korea, is a symbol of the March 1 Independence Movement Day as people holding the flags called for Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule in 1919.
Flying the Taegeukgi at home or holding it are ways to mark the occasion and express patriotism, but a vast majority of citizens were reluctant to do so Wednesday, because the national flag has become a symbol of conservative citizens protesting against the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
According to a poll by job portal site Incruit and Dooit Survey last month, over 40 percent of 2,702 people surveyed said they were unwilling to raise the flag at their homes March 1. The poll also found that 42 percent felt uncomfortable when they saw the Taegeukgi.
Since the outbreak of the corruption scandal involving President Park and her confidant Choi Soon-sil in October, people denouncing them have held candlelit protests in downtown Seoul. But as more and more Park supporters come to demonstrate against the impeachment, downtown Seoul has now become a battleground between citizens calling for Park's ouster and those opposing it.
The scale of the latter has grown in recent weeks, with the participants bringing the Taegeukgi as their symbol. But some of the participants have behaved violently and used abusive language, while often damaging the Taegeukgi during the protests, creating a negative image of the national flag. They held a massive rally organized by the Korea Freedom Federation, the nation's largest conservative group, Wednesday, the Independence Movement Day.
To prevent the image of the Taegeukgi from being tarnished, Rep. Kwon Eun-hee of the People's Party said she would propose a revision bill this month that prevents the inappropriate use of the national flag.
The current act, enacted in 2007, restricts the Taegeukgi from being used in a manner that damages it or causes a sense of repugnance. But there are no penalties set for such offenses, nor are there any regulations on the use of the flag by specific groups.
"The Taegukgi, which represents Korea as well as the March 1 Independence Movement, has been used as a tool for protests and has been damaged at the same time, and this is a serious problem," said Kwon, a member of the National Assembly Security and Public Administration Committee.
"The revision will define specific activities that impair the dignity of the flag and establish legal grounds for those who violate the regulations," the lawmaker said.
Kwon also presented the case of the neighboring country of China ― the Chinese government restricts such indiscriminate use of its national flag by stating in the law that those destroying its dignity on purpose will be investigated.
