Conservative groups have refused Seoul City’s request to refrain from holding rallies in the capital city on Liberation Day. 

Jun Kwang-hoon, a conservative pastor and a vocal critic of the Moon Jae-in administration, said on YouTube on Wednesday that the municipal government’s move is “nonsense” and claimed that a court verdict necessitates no administrative approval in citizens’ exercise of constitutional rights to political association and assembly. 

He said the rallies are all set and urged his supporters to attend them. 

Another group called “freedom alliance” also said it will move forward with a plan to hold a rally of around two-thousand people near Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul on Saturday. 

Earlier in the day, the Seoul city government said it asked some civic groups planning large rallies on the Liberation Day to call them off to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus, adding will consider taking steps to restrict large gatherings of people if they do not comply.