Police water cannons to be banned at street protests

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sun, December 3, 2023 | 19:55

Law & Crime

Police water cannons to be banned at street protests

Posted : 2019-06-10 14:47

Updated : 2019-06-10 18:34

Baek Nam-ki, 69, a farmer who participated in mass street protests against the former Park Geun-hye administration, lies unconscious on the ground near Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, after being sprayed by a police water cannon on Nov. 14, 2015. He went into a coma and died about 10 months later. / Yonhap

Police will also have to store communication records between officers for reference

By Lee Suh-yoon

A police reform committee has passed new rules banning police from using water cannons and making it mandatory to store recordings of communication of police officers deployed to street rallies, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) confirmed Monday.

"The committee review on the proposed changes is over," a security department police officer who partook in the discussion told The Korea Times on the condition of anonymity. "Regarding the mandatory storage of communication recordings, an official announcement is likely within a week."

According to the new rules, police will have to store communication records among police officers dispatched to control rallies for at least three months. Orders from district police agencies and local police stations will all be recorded to make sure responsible parties are held accountable when police use excessive force against protesters.

The water cannon ban will take longer to be made official, as it is under a presidential decree requiring approval at a Cabinet meeting, the officer added. The Moon Jae-in administration is likely to approve the ban.

These moves came after the death of Baek Nam-ki, a farmer who participated in a mass protest against the former Park Geun-hye administration in 2015. Baek went into a coma after being hit by police water cannons and died 10 months later without ever regaining consciousness.

Although a KNPA fact-finding committee concluded an excessive use of force by the police officers was the cause of Baek's death, and officers involved were indicted, then-Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Goo Eun-soo was found not guilty and a controversy emerged over who was responsible for the use of the water cannon.

Last year, the Constitutional Court ruled it was unconstitutional for the police to use tear gas solutions in high-pressure water cannons ― a common practice used to disperse protests. On the same day Baek collapsed, police had 440 liters of tear gas liquid and 120 liters of dyes mixed into 202 tons of water stationed in police water cannons deployed to Gwanghwamun Square, the fact-finding committee later confirmed.

sylee@koreatimes.co.kr

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