Violent Tendency in Solving Civil Affairs

There are a growing number of cases that people try to solve civil affairs in a violent manner against common sense and the law. Some civil petitioners confine a civil affairs official for over none hours during the day or invade their places at midnight, threatening with a weapon.

One reason for that is the civil affairs offices failed to persuade civil petitioners and solve the affairs. However, some point out that civil petitioners tend to depend more on the violence than the lawful procedure.

Some surviving families of the Daegu subway blaze took Kim Ki-ok, the city’s administration deputy mayor, to the office of the victim’s countermeasure committee at the citizens’ community center and confined him for nine hours on April 26.

About 40 people of the bereaved families went on a sit-down around noon on the day, calling for moving the incense-burning place for the victims at the annex of the Daegu citizens` community center to the auditorium.

As the city refused to move the place because the agreement on the funeral schedule had not been reached, the families started to set up the place at the parking lot on their own.

Despite the restraint of Daegu Facilities Management Corporation controlling the parking lot, the surviving families forced to set up the incense-burning place. After that, the deputy mayor began to remove the joint incense-burning place with 200 public officials.

The families of the victims strongly resisted, saying, “Where do we meet with mourners if there is no incense-burning place.” They argued that if not the auditorium, the city had to come up with other plans. During the argument, they had scuffles with the public officials.

While engaging in the fights, some of the bereaved families also had a quarrel with Kim for 20 minutes, asking him if he ordered the removal. He got in the police car to run away from the situation.

However, some followed and took him to their office at the first floor of the community center. After taken to the office around 12:20 pm, Deputy Mayor Kim was released around 9:30 pm thanks to the mediation of the police. He was apparently exhausted and now in the Kyungpook National University Hospital.

The surviving families said that they exploded with rage when Daegu City`s public officials rushed and tried to remove the incense-burning place. “Deputy Mayor Kim was not beaten while he was in our office.”

On the morning of April 26, two members of the Struggle Committee against Nuclear Waste Site in Uljin went to the place of Choi Yang-woo, President of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., confined and did violence to him, leading to a police investigation.

Around 3 am, the two invaded the place of President Choi staying at Uljin regarding the proposed site of nuclear waste site, woke him up and asked him to make a recommendation to the government not to establish nuclear waste site.

President Choi was confined and threatened with a sharp tool for 40 minutes. He was released after writing a memorandum that he accepted the request. After he went to Seoul, the police are investigating into the case in Seoul on April 27.

“The two members seemed to have been drunk and gone to President Choi,” said a police officer in Uljin. “As Choi reported the police, we will probe into the case to decide whether to take a legal action.”

boriam@donga.com