Following the controversial “bloody riot” at POSCO’s Gwangyang Steel Plant, it was confirmed that the National Police Commission, a policy deliberation and decision-making body of the police, asked the police to provide the basis for the rioting method.
This raises the possibility that the police may have violated their own standards for the use of physical force.
This is an exclusive report by reporter Koo Na-yeon.
◀ Report ▶
Police batons continue to fly over the heads of the already beaten workers.
The high-altitude sit-in at the Gwangyang Steel Plant of Posco in Jeonnam has become a “bloody suppression” controversy.
As the controversy grew, the National Police Commission asked the police to “review the ‘standard for the use of physical force'”.
MBC’s investigation confirmed this.
In the process of using physical force and equipment먹튀검증, the police may have violated their own principles and practices.
The National Police Agency established two rules in 2019.
First, under the “Three Principles of Using Physical Force,” the item “Prioritize Harm Reduction Efforts” stands out.
It says that before using physical force, you should first try to reduce the harm to the police by trying to disarm the subject of the arrest by grabbing any blunt or deadly weapons they may be carrying.
The accompanying “caveat” says to immediately stop using force when the objective is achieved, but in Gwangyang, the blows to the head didn’t stop when the unionist sat down.
Another standard for rioting, the situational “stages of physical force,” categorizes a blow to the head as “high-risk physical force,” the highest level.
But it can only be used when there is “imminent and significant harm” to the officer’s life.
In this case, it says they can strike any body part, but avoid the head.
“A review is needed to ensure that we do not repeat the unfortunate history of citizens and officers being injured and brought to justice,” explained one police commissioner.
Another added, “The National Police Commission is limited in its ability to sanction the current police response to protests, so I would like to see the National Police Agency Human Rights Commission actively weigh in.”
However, the National Police Agency Human Rights Commission, an advisory body to the National Police Commissioner, saw all of its eight members resign in October last year, saying they felt “powerless.”
The ninth Human Rights Commission, which was inaugurated earlier this year, has been criticized for being notoriously ineffective, with no meeting minutes released for more than half a year.
“There are no plans to discuss the recent police response to the rally,” the ninth commissioner told MBC.