Petition demands cancellation of this weekend’s Seoul Queer Festival
A petition calling for the South Korea to cancel this weekend’s gay Pride festival has been signed by more than 210,000 people.
The petition, on the web site of the South Korean president’s office, demands the government acts to prevent the ’abominable’ festival from going ahead.
Anti-gay campaigners are upset that the Seoul Queer Culture Festival will take over the city’s main square. The event is due to mark its 19th anniversary this weekend.
Religious fervour: Anti-gay protestors in Seoul in 2015 show lack of tolerance. Photo: Simon Williams-Im, Flickr
‘We are not discriminating against sexual minorities, but Seoul Plaza belongs to all citizens,’ the petition reads, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The event culminates with the Seoul Queer Parade on Saturday afternoon around Seoul Plaza, an historic square in front of Seoul’s old City Hall.
The petition goes on: ‘We do not want to see their abominable events in a square where we should be able to rest and relax.
Petition says Pride is filled with ‘illegal acts and hypocrisy’
‘Every year, queer-themed events such as street performances, drinking and smoking are called ‘cultural festivals’, but they are just occasions filled with illegal acts and hypocrisy.
Although homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, LGBTI rights are frowned upon by conservatives and an influential religious lobby.
‘Homosexuals and normal people should not engage in such perverse and obscene events in a plaza that is meant to be a space for citizens to relax’, the petition reads. ‘True human rights are not indulgences’.
Moon with Indian president Narendra Modi earlier this week. India is currently debating legalising homosexuality.
It’s unclear how South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who worked as a human rights lawyer before taking office. will respond.
However, the Telegraph noted that Moon said he was ‘against’ homosexuality during his presidential campaign last year.
While homosexuality is legal among civilians it is still a punishable crime in the nation’s military forces. The Telegraph reported that Moon believes gay soldiers would undermine the armed forces.
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