Police Officer Ordered to Use Excessive Force Jailed as Conscientious Objector

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.

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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)

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