The Supreme Court ruled Sunday that organizers of flash mob events should notify the authorities in advance when they intend to communicate political and social messages.

The court upheld a lower court’s decision to impose a fine of 700,000 won ($630) on a man surnamed Kim on charges of holding an outdoor gathering without notifying the district police.

A flash mob is an event in which a group of people assemble suddenly in a public place and hold an unusual performance for a short time.

Kim insisted the event was a flash mob for an artistic purpose, but the first and appeal courts defined it as a demonstration and fined him.

The court said in the statement “the laws on assembly requires those who hold outdoor gatherings to notice the authorities beforehand, but exempt them in case of academic, art, sports, religious, and socializing events” and it added “events should be judged comprehensively depending on purpose, schedule, method and the number of participants.”

Considering the event organized by Kim had the purpose of criticizing government policies on youth employment and was notified to members of its internet cafe, the event had social and political purposes and required notification, according to the court.

In 2010 Kim and 10 others held a performance that criticized the government in the form of a flash mob in front of Myeongdong Theater in Jung-gu, Seoul.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)