South Korean Mayor Tried to Block Pride Festival but Police Intervened

• The mayor of Daegu, South Korea led a protest to block the city's annual pride festival.
• Police intervened to physically remove the mayor and his supporters, allowing organizers to set up.
• Since starting in 2009, the Daegu Queer Culture Festival has been one of the largest in the country.

The mayor of Daegu, South Korea mobilized city workers in an attempt to block the city's Queer Culture Festival on Saturday, only to be stopped by city police who protected festival organizers and ensured the event could proceed.

The BBC reported that Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo led business owners and church leaders in a push to ban the festival earlier this year, seeking a court injunction on the grounds that the event may restrict access to local businesses.

Despite the courts siding with festival organizers and allowing the event to proceed, the mayor and city workers attempted to physically block organizers from setting up on Saturday, leading police to remove them from the scene, according to the BBC.

For festival organizers, it was not their first run-in with opposition to the event. Since its inception in 2009, the Daegu Queer Culture Festival has faced repeated protests. In 2014, 28 different groups, comprised of local churches and right-wing political organizations, formed a committee calling on the city to cancel the event, The Korea Times reported.

The Daegu Queer Culture Festival is one of the largest in the country, with Seoul's Queer Culture Festival taking first place. Organizers of this year's event in Seoul also reported experiencing discrimination after a civic committee voted to move the event from its usual spot at Seoul Plaza, giving the spot instead to the organizers of a Christian youth concert, CNN reported last month.