EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Jan. 21)

Death of protesters

Police are supposed to protect the people and their assets so they may live their
lives without worrying about crime. Thus, they're empowered to enforce the law
and ensure public and social order through the legitimate use of force. However,
they are often criticized for doing so excessively when cracking down on
criminals and demonstrators.

Tuesday's deaths of five protesters and a police officer in locations designated
for urban redevelopment in Seoul conjure memories of previous tragic incidents
related to excessive police crackdowns on protesters. The tragedy took place in
the morning, when 50 SWAT officers stormed a four-story building in Yongsan-gu
where more than 30 occupiers had been staging a sit-in since Monday. Opposing the
redevelopment project, they demanded more compensation for the loss of their
businesses and homes there.
The protesters, mostly self-employed and tenants, might have gone too far in
their demands, as is often the case in many redevelopment areas. Developers
offered them the equivalent of three-months' income and four months' rent. But
the compensation scheme was apparently not enough for them to lead a decent life
and they therefore occupied the building calling for more money.
Developers refused to compromise with them in a bid to reduce construction costs.
They finally asked police to remove the occupiers from the building, possibly
conjuring flashbacks of baton-wielding police, private security agents and even
gangsters mobilized to evict residents from land, homes and buildings in many
urban redevelopment areas over the last four decades.
In the most recent incident, protesters were armed with firebombs. It was
presumed they burned to death or suffocated, as they hurled firebombs at the SWAT
officers and set the rooftop structure, in which they holed up, ablaze. It is too
early to tell the exact cause of the deaths, but the loss of life could possibly
be attributed to an excessive police crackdown, the radical action of the
occupiers or accidental causes.
What's really deplorable is that the police had failed to thoroughly prepare to
cope with any emergencies that might have arisen from the raid. Had they been
more cautious and prepared, they could have prevented the loss of valuable human
lives. They must have forgotten their violent clashes with candlelit protesters
who were strongly against the resumption of U.S. beef imports in May and June
last year. Then, they came under attack for using excessive violence on the
demonstrators.
The incident occurred two days after President Lee Myung-bak picked a new
national police chief to replace Eo Cheong-soo, who had been under pressure to
step down over alleged police brutality during the candlelit rallies. The nominee
is Kim Seok-ki, the current chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Kim is
not free from responsibility for the deaths because he authorized the dispatch of
the SWAT team for the eviction operation.
Opposition party lawmakers and civic groups called for the sacking of Kim and
Public Administration and Security Minister Won Sei-hoon, who was chosen as the
new chief of the National Intelligence Service on Sunday. What's urgent is that
police take radical measures to prevent excessive crackdowns and avoid future
deadly incidents. Ensuring protesters' safety is much more important than
dispersing and cracking down on them.
(END)