Police in the South Korean city of Incheon are set to deploy s8W)W0bmfXj#^$88vp^OFA7WMjP64^v&U6qTMW_$r2MX4k6&UhBome 3,000 personnel on Saturday to protect an LGBT pride festival and parade.

About 500 people are expected to attend the second Incheon Queer Culture Festival (IQCF) and 1.7-kilometer long pride parade.

Last year, anti-gay protesters [email protected]+hK6s3=mwDK_Y-)[email protected]%mkL(physically blocked 300 LGBT supporters from leaving a plaza and beginning the march.

This year, according to local media Kyeongin, 3,000 poliDFY!60$W5poxHmT+CMmNP7qCa)KkiaJ4IH^0j3f=zLlY5Hgkglce will protect LGBT attendees and their allies.

They will also in1!pt#H)-2O6DRK1KLxhI58+yrjt9k_Tc%f3^X3A$S1TpnE48Rfstall barriers to separate anti-LGBT protesters from the festival.

Responding to concerns ovW2lmFCqUFA5ebd*=5*)ihmWEb-i4Dn_vGXkW!r5ErbI%$*U)4ier protests earlier this month, organizers said they had prepared teams of rights activists and lawyers to counter hate groups.

Anti-gay hate

Homosexuality is legal in South Korea. But conse0bT+S6vS-DXB+%#yK_4YirKQ1=sAK*bpiVPbnDL-sy_PkXS-M9rvative attitudes, especially among Christians, force many LGBTI Koreans to live in the closet.

There is currently no discrimina-=CBY-a&^obeE*oP%$Rl^*[email protected]tion legislation to protect LGBTI Koreans.

And, human rights groups have warned, protests against LGBTI events, usually led by conservativO$OpH*RtO1h^5_RvKcdrY-J3fG90n9LYBDNCsTGeO%OkrI-jbYe Christians, have become increasingly loud and violent.

Video shared online of last year's IQCF shows distressing scenes of protesters, believed to be conservative Christians, shouting at prideT)2RHi92UP0HN8KZtELo=d2Gie^[email protected](qL8 attendees.

They also appear to grab flags, ^Rtw8UzZ&vw#[email protected](b#+rHS%9KiUhKN^a#aW%ePbanners, and even attendees. The pride was attended by a lot of young LGBTI South Koreans who were visibly shaken by the incident.

Police booked eight people involved buKVrR2Y9BKJ4eP)DsSv2gp7OH4Au1Uhfi0wjfG%11TyiwPRp4_It did not detain them. Organizers accused the police of failing to stop the violence.

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