"In many cases, victims of illegal rallies cannot even conceive the idea of bringing a claim to court due to the huge amounts of court costs and complicated processes despite the small amount of damage for each victim,” an official with the council said. “But if class action suits are possible, then all victims of such illegal rallies can easily get compensation as they can benefit from the outcome of one person's lawsuit."

The council is expected to hold a public hearing next Wednesday to gather expert opinion on the legality of the system and get a bill passed by the National Assembly during its regular session. "The majority opinion in judicial circles is that it is possible to file a class action lawsuit against civic organizations, not necessarily the state or enterprises,” a presidential official said. “We expect that it will contribute to improving the protest culture, considering that such a system will put substantial pressure on civic organizations that have so far led illegal, violent protests."

(englishnews@chosun.com )