Jail term sought for officer opposing crackdown on anti-US beef rallies

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean prosecution has demanded a three-year jail term for a riot police officer who refused to return to his unit because he did not want to be mobilized against rallies opposing U.S. beef imports earlier this year, a court said Saturday.

Lee Gil-jun was indicted in August on charges of desertion and insubordination
because he did not rejoin his unit after an overnight leave, motivated by his
belief that returning would pit him against the protests that he believed in.
"I listened to my conscience and acted according to what I believe is right," Lee
said in his testimony, according to the Seoul Northern District Court.
South Korea was embroiled this year in massive rallies that raised doubts about
the safety of U.S. beef imports amid rumors that it might be tainted with mad cow
disease, which can also cause the human brain to degenerate.
The ban on imports was eventually lifted according to an April deal between
Washington and Seoul, and police gradually stepped up their crackdown on the
protests, accusing them of becoming increasingly violent and spreading unfounded
rumors.
The prosecution said Lee had failed to uphold the rule of law by not joining the
crackdown, and accused him of holding his fellow officers, who were also serving
their mandatory two-year service, in contempt.
Every South Korean man must serve at least two years in the military or police
forces barring special conditions. Lee was transferred to a different police unit
in August after he filed a request to be sent to the army.