The government sent out an official notice to its ministries and agencies to block public officials from taking part in rallies held in the memory of the Sewol victims.

On April 29, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration sent an official document (photo) under the title, "Requesting Strict Management of Civil Servant Actions in Connection to May 1 Labor Day Demonstrations," to government agencies including the Ministry of Education and the National Forensic Service. There were demonstrations and marches announced to be held in memory of the Sewol victims in twelve regions nationwide including Seoul Station on Labor Day.

In the document, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration requested, "With the recent Sewol accident, there is a nationwide movement to remember the victims, and public officials taking part in such demonstrations cannot be tolerated. We ask that the heads of each agency take care to strictly manage the actions of their civil servants."

According to this notice, the Ministry of Education also sent an official document titled, "Strict Management of Actions in Connection to Demonstrations" to the offices of education in 17 cities and provinces on May 1.

An official from the education ministry explained, "We distributed the official document from the central government calling for strict management of the actions of public officials to the agencies in our jurisdiction such as the offices of education in our cities and provinces and national universities. The whole nation is mourning due to the ferry accident, and some have raised issues with the responses of public officials. In such a situation, it [the notice] was sent to remind public agencies that public officials taking part in such demonstrations could cause problems."

The document was also sent to the schools through the offices of education. In fact, teachers and civil servants individually took part in memorial gatherings on Labor Day, and earlier on April 30, the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union organized a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims in 17 cities and provinces.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun confirmed that the National Forensic Service also distributed an official letter to the service's senior executives and heads of affiliate organizations on April 30, the day after they received the notice, stating that public officials taking part in Labor Day demonstrations would not be tolerated.

Labor is strongly protesting the government's letter. Yi Hyeon, policy director for the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union said, "It is inhumane that civil servants cannot take part in demonstrations while everyone is mourning the deaths. This only proves that the Park Geun-hye government is afraid of the people's resistance because they displayed utter incompetence and irresponsibility in its response to the Sewol disaster."

A member of the Korean Government Employees' Union criticized, "It reveals an intention to intimidate civil servants so they will not take part in the demonstrations. The government is directly violating the Constitution, which guarantees the public officials' freedom of assembly and association, and the Labor Act, which guarantees the union's right to organize."