President Kim expresses regret for police brutality

Expression of ``deep regret`` by President Kim Dae-Jung on Tuesday over alleged police brutality in cracking down on protesting former Daewoo Motor unionists apparently was meant to placate the rising emotional reaction among labor activists that threatens to develop into a major cause of social unrest.

The government dismissed the Pupyong police chief and the superintendent of Inchon Metropolitan Police Agency for their oversight in deploying and commanding riot police, but the action fell short of reversing deteriorating public opinion. Organized labor threatened to take advantage of the Pupyong incident for an intensified ``spring struggle`` to mount a major political struggle. The Daewoo protestors came up with slogans calling for ``defense of the right to existence,`` ``rejection of restructuring`` and ``overthrow of the incumbent government.``

Some members of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party said the police action to prevent workers from entering their union office in the auto plant in defiance of a provisional court order was illegal, and agreed to popular outcries against excessive use of force in containing the union rally. A highly placed member of the party said President Kim`s appointment of a labor activist Lee Tae-Bog as chief secretary in charge of welfare and labor affairs was symbolic of his profound concern for the well-being of workers, and his expression of regret came as part of his show of the concern for labor.

Other members of the ruling party asked that the remarks of the lawyer in the employ of the union, Park Hoon, in favor of violent activism needed to be made known to the public as a response to the distribution of a videotape showing police brutality by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), but it failed to win broad support from the party leadership.

The expression of regret by President Kim also was accompanied by his emphasis on lawful and peaceful assembly and demonstration that is practiced most places in the world. Peaceful assembly is guaranteed, but no violence is tolerated, he said. It was a warning against turning the labor movement into a political campaign by some radical activists.

The KCTU welcomed the president`s statement, which ``recognized, though belatedly, the harsh action of police.``

It, however, noted that the incident originated not from an errant manner of protest demonstration but from a mistaken attempt by the government to enforce its wrongful policy by mobilizing police, and thus the labor scene as a whole is unlikely to get any better ahead.

Yun Seung-Mo ysmo@donga.com