Korean police officer Lee Gil-jun is in prison on a 2 year sentence for not returning to work after commanding officers ordered him to fire a water cannon into a crowd of peaceful protesters last May.
Last may, South Koreans took to the streets by the tens of thousands to protest US beef imports, mainly over concerns about mad cow disease in US beef. For several months on any given Saturday night, you could see protesters with white candles in the downtown centers of many cities, especially Seoul. As the candlelight vigils grew, they became more political. President Lee’s entire cabinet offered to resign and the newly elected leader was caught between Koreans, who wanted to scrap the beef import deal, and the US government, which wanted more access to Korean markets. It was then that police officers called in to monitor the demonstrations began using water cannons and physical force to push protesters back from the Korean capital building.
Lee Gil-jun had been drafted into the military like every young Korean man and was serving as a police officer when the candlelight vigils started. From May 31 to June 1, Lee’s commanding officers ordered his unit to use a water cannon to push demonstrators back. Lee recalls sitting down on the ground afterwards and feeling sick with guilt.
Lee says he became determined that he would no longer be used as a tool of suppression.
Afterwards, Lee took a leave of absence to see his parents and decided not to go back. He wanted to tell the media about the situation, but his parents were against the idea. So the 25 year-old filed as a conscientious objector and went alone to a police station to turn himself in.
At his court case, the judge asked “How do you think the treatment of illegal gatherings should change?”
“Peace protesters, marchers and the weak who represent social rights must be respected as much as possible. The government should keep within its principles and show maximum self-control,” answered Lee.
The judge continued, “If every person who has a complaint about their government can assemble in front of the Blue House [the South Korean equivalent of the White House], this society could become chaos.”
“Shouldn’t the government do more than to treat people like gang members or children? If they respect people’s decisions, democracy and peaceful gatherings will grow,” Lee replied.
Lee is currently in the 10th month of his sentence. He will be kept at Anyang Prison until his release date in 2010.
Readers can advocate for Lee’s freedom:
- via this Facebook group
- by filing a petition with the Korean government
- by emailing the Korean police agency
- by filing a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea or
- by writing words of support to Lee via a Korean web chat page set up to relay the messages
Via: OhMyNews, with translations by Jeon Young-min
Image credit: 유성호 (Yu Seong-ho)
This is a heartrending story. I can only imagine the worry this young man faced as he returned to the police office in order to clear his position as a conscientious objector to the crowd control directions he was given during the demonstrations.
I am sorry he was not better directed through legal counsel to register his concerns within whatever administrative channels which may have been available to him before he delayed his return after his visit home. His parents would certainly have been justifiably worried about the repercussions of going directly to the press with his feelings which, at the time, may have increased tensions and perhaps caused harmful civil violence on the streets, while most likely causing their son far greater negative consequences. I don’t know what procedures there may have been available within the police force or other administrative authority in the South Korean service system. The bulk of his problems seem to have stemmed from his not returning to his position after his visit home. I am assuming that his sentence was based, for the most part, on dissertion of his national service obligation. National Service and all of its “opportunities” and possible abuses is a very complicated question and one that faces parents and their children in a number of countries. I do hope that for whatever time this young man is detained that his treatment is compassionate. I will follow whatever of the above links are available to a non-Korean citizen living outside the country in order to voice my feelings on the situation.
Upon reflecting on the situation which led to this unfortunate chain of events, I am reminded how much responsibility the national and international press should feel in fully informing the public on issues of concern to their health and safety without creating and allowing themselves to get caught up in the frenzy created by sensationalistic reporting practices. I just listened to a public radio article yesterday which described an American reporter going onto the street wearing a medical mask to report on the H1N1 influenza virus currently in the news. There were no other people wearing a mask or seeming concerned in the area. However, he did encounter another reporter visiting from England who was looking for a worried citizen to interview. The visiting British reporter then proceeded to interview the American reporter, and filed his article on how frightened the American public is over the spread of this “deadly virus”. As in the tainted beef issue, it is not that the subject of safety and correct necessary procedures should not be brought to the attention of the public and to public regulatory bodies. It is the creation of an atmosphere of panic coupled with people reacting without fully informing themselves that can do so much more harm than good. The story of this young man is just one example of the sad consequences of such behaviour.