One may argue that this was a rare instance of police brutality, and that such behavior from the police should arguably be expected at protests of any kind, regardless of whether or not they are peaceful. However, this rather positive view of the Korean police, which stems from the people’s reluctance to judge authority figures, is troublesome; more often than not, the “good” reputation of the Korean police officers and the public’s hesitance to confront them have led to several individual cases of corrupt police officers.
The almost-too-positive perception of the police force may allow some officers to take advantage of their authoritative position. For instance, according to a blog report on Daum (source 3), one policeman, referred to as Mr. Park, used his status to violate a sex worker. After threatening to arrest the woman for her illegal occupation, he then forced her to follow him to a motel, where he proceeded to rape her. Using the same manner of blackmail, Mr. Park was also able to get free doctor appointments, and he was even exempted from paying for his wife’s plastic surgery and his mother-in-law’s eye surgery.
Furthermore, this favorable view of the police puts immense pressure on officers, and this once led to the destruction of an innocent person’s life. According to an online post on Naver (source 4), when officers failed to catch a criminal, they panicked and attempted to avoid punishment and salvage their reputation by blaming and arresting a random stranger who happened to be at the scene of the crime. Consequently, this unfortunate person spent the next 10 years in jail for a crime that did not belong to them.
All in all, police brutality and corruption are existing concerns here in Korea, and, if need be, they should be dealt with as passionately and seriously as they are in America. In order for these problems to be effectively dealt with, Koreans must get rid of their tendencies to being anxious around authorities while simultaneously glorifying them.