A Battered Police Officer Says “Better that I get beaten up than be Punished for Suppressing Violence”

2019-5-24, Donga Ilbo

“If anyone in your family wants to become a police, stop him/her.”

On May 23, 2019, around noon, I met Police Officer A at a rally site near the fountain in front of the Blue House in Jongno District, Seoul.  Mr. A said “People should know how lucky they are to not have a police officer in their family. That’s how it is in the Republic of Korea” as he pleads his grievous situation.  The day before, Mr. A was deployed to the demonstration site in front of the Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Seoul office when he was indiscriminately assaulted by the members of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Union and the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Workers Union, both under the Korean Metal Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU).  The union members held a rally on May 22, 2019 opposing Hyundai Heavy Industries’ merger with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Police Officer A said:

I was guarding the site, when I heard someone say, “he is the captain.” Suddenly, people [union members] rushed and dragged me over 10 meters. I was then surrounded by dozens of people and was beaten for more than five minutes.  They also kicked me. Some people hit my head with lumber…all I could do was to close my eyes and take the beating. The polices’ rally management protocol is “suppression by endurance.”

The wound from the lumber beating on Mr. A’s face was obvious.  On his right arm was a black bruise the size of an adult’s hand.  There were bruises and scratches on his arms, legs and waist. With such injuries, he reported to the rally site again starting 6 a.m. on May 23. Mr. A further said:

Do you think we get beat up because we have no capability?  It’s always “human rights, human rights.” “Human rights” is the talking point.  So we have no choice, but to do ‘endurance suppression.’ It’s the reason why we must suffer.

Police Officer A explained why the police cannot be more forceful, despite illegal violent acts at the rally sites.  Mr. A said,

This is a pity…from the above, they tell us to arrest if illegal activities occur, but [at the same time,] they [also] say persevere, persevere, so how can we arrest anyone? If they ask the police to manage the protests peacefully, the participants in the gatherings should also hold rallies peacefully. When the demonstrations become peaceful, then the police can also respond flexibly.

Mr. A says that after the recent controversial ‘Daelim-dong Women Police’ incident, the National Police Agency has looked for instructions on physical force by the newly released field police officers. Police officer A said:

“Tazer use at rally sites is ruled out,” is the instruction. No matter what is the situation, the rally management instruction states “unconditionally endure,” so the police must get hit, whether the [rally participants] beat them or throw things at them.  It’s better to just take the beating rather than to be punished after trying to suppress violence [using force].

If a rally participant were surrounded and beaten (like I was), the Police Commissioner and the [Justice] Minister would be forced to resign.  No one understands the feelings of police officers, who are forced to endure assaults.

Officer A said he did not go home on May 22 after he was indiscriminately beaten.  He slept at the office at the police station. He could not go home knowing his family would be shocked and worried at the sight of his injuries.  Mr. A took out something. It was a “tiger balm.” He applied it to his wounds all over his body. He said “after deploying to various demonstration sites, there’s no part of body that is well…This is a cure-all for all the bruises and sprains  I always carry it with me,” as he chuckled.

Mr. A said it looks like he’d need to live at his office at the police station for a while until his bruises and visible injuries are gone.  “I probably won’t be able to go home for a few days as my family will worry, so I’ll sleep in the office,” said Mr. A, frustrated.

After being assaulted at rallies, Mr. A said all kinds of thoughts come to his mind. At first, I’m taken aback, later embarrassed, and next comes humiliation.” When he returns after being beaten by rally participants, he wakes up outraged and even kicked his blanket.  Despite that, he has to endure and that is the reality of today’s police in South Korea, he said.

After he was assaulted on May 22 in front of the Hyundai Heavy Industry’s office, he realized his watch and sunglasses were gone.  “After I was beaten, my watch and my sunglasses were gone. I survived, but I was in tatters,” said Mr. A.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency took 12 KCTU members of the May 22 rally in front of the Seoul office of Hyundai Heavy Industries for an investigation.  Ten of them were released in the dawn of May 23.

Source:  http://soda.donga.com/3/all/37/1739761/1