[Editorial] Why Did Han Step Down?

Seoul Police Commissioner Han Jin-hee stepped down recently. But rumors are flaring up about his resignation, causing confusion. Han said yesterday, “Someone has to take responsibility for the candlelight protests [against the import of U.S. beef]. The commissioner general’s term is fixed. That’s why I am stepping down.” The National Police Agency, however, explained that Han voluntarily resigned due to mounted fatigue from the protests. On the contrary, a senior presidential aide confessed, “He did not respond to the protests properly. You can take it as some form of reprimand.” But the official insisted that his comments be kept off the record.

We Koreans want to know the real reason behind the commissioner’s resignation. Was it an act of reprimand? Did he step down voluntarily for health reasons? Or, is he really taking responsibility?

The one thing that seems sure is that this was an action to hold him accountable for the protest-related debacle. From the beginning, Han stressed flexible responses to candlelight protesters, who later resorted to extreme violence. His initial position made the demonstration become extreme violence. Even after the Korean public’s support for the demonstrations waned, Han did not bother to arrest the handful of protesters who occupied the streets and wielded steel clubs at police officers.

We know what Han did. But it does not seem right to hide the reason for his resignation. We cannot brush away the impression that Cheong Wa Dae and authorities are using Han as a scapegoat for their failure to protect innocent citizens from violent demonstration. Seoul had been ruled not by law, but by angry protesters for two months. But it wasn’t only Han’s fault. Cheong Wa Dae itself discouraged police officers from doing what they were supposed to do, saying that law enforcement should be strictly applied, and then saying the next that police should seek not to harm anyone. Police Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo should be ashamed of his attitude. He paid attention not to the situations on the streets, but to what his higher-ups.

The reason why we are interested in the recent resignation of the second ranking police office is not because we care only about Mr. Han. What we care about is whether authorities have learned a lesson from the recent fiasco and made a countermeasure. It should not happen again. If the administration held Han accountable, let the public know what he did wrong so that law and order in society will not be tampered with again.