Experts say Korean Police Response to Protests Weak

Eight out of 10 domestic experts on police administration say that Korean police lag behind advanced nations in terms of proper responses to public unrest.

According to a telephone poll conducted by the Dong-A Ilbo of 35 police administration professors at 15 universities including Korea National Police University, Dongguk University, and Wonkwang University, 29.41 percent of the respondents said the response of the Korean police is “very weak,” compared to that of advanced nations and 52.94 percent said “weak.”

When asked about the response of police to the two-month-long candlelight vigils held by the People’s Council for Countermeasures against Mad Cow Disease, 33.33 percent said it was “weak,” (27.27 percent described it as “weak” and 6.06 percent “very weak”), while 27.27 percent said it was “stern” and 3.03 percent said “very stern.” Thirty-seven percent of the respondents said it was “proper.”

Contrary to criticisms from some quarters, including the People’s Council for Countermeasures against Mad Cow Disease, against police for harshly cracking down on candlelight vigil protests, experts judge that Korean police make slackened responses to protests, compared to developed countries.

Some experts say police should adopt more stern measures to clamp down on illegal demonstrations. Asked whether police should take swift action when protestors cross police lines, seven in 10 answered in the affirmative (44.18 percent “totally agreed” and 26.47 percent “agreed”), outnumbering those who disagreed by nine times – only 8.82 percent were against swift action.

Regarding public criticism early this year that police attempted to reinstate “Baekgoldan,” the infamous riot police team of the 1980s when it was reviewing to set up a “special police team” aimed at cracking down on illegal demonstrators, 54.28 percent agreed to the setting up of a special team (8.57 percent “highly agreed” and 45.71 percent “agreed”). On the contrary, 34.28 percent of respondents, with 8.57 percent who “highly disagreed” and 25.71 percent who “disagreed,” were in opposition to the special task force team.

Pyo Chang-won, a professor of the Police Administration Department at Korea National Police University, said, “The police line is a legal and social agreement, so police should take strong measures when it is crossed.” He added, “The nominal police line and law enforcement mislead people into thinking that violence and disorder are justified.”

On the use of water cannons, a source of controversy during the candlelight vigils, 44.12 said it was appropriate – with “very appropriate” accounting for 5.88 percent and “appropriate” 38.24 percent, while 2.94 percent said it was “very inappropriate” and 26.47 percent said “inappropriate.”

When asked about how far police can go in handling violent protests, 16.2 percent said “only tear gas should be allowed,” 22.58 percent answered “water cannons mixed with tear gas should be allowed,” and 19.35 percent said that police “should be permitted to use sticks and shield as well.” Lee Seong-yong, a professor of Police Administration Department at Keimyung University, said, “Unlike sticks and shields, tear gas and water cannons allow police to deal with protesters without directly clashing with them. Those methods are also more effective in preventing possible casualties when violent protests and clashes between police and protestors arise.”

turtle@donga.com