Human Rights Commission: "Police Excessively Used Physical Force by Pressing Down on Faces and Handcuffing Assembly Participants"

The police response of restraining the limbs of rally participants and handcuffing them behind their backs was judged to have violated their bodily freedom.

Yonhap News

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) announced on the 17th that it had determined that the use of excessive physical force on participants at a rally and the arrest of those caught in the act at the scene on the 22nd of last month violated the constitutional right to bodily freedom.

The petitioner, the chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, held an outdoor rally after notifying the authorities for wage negotiations and other purposes, gathering at the steel mill’s main gate. During this process, a clash occurred between the police and rally participants. The police restrained the limbs of five participants, pressed their heads against the asphalt road surface, and handcuffed them behind their backs, using physical force to arrest them on the spot.

The police explained, "Due to a watchtower installed by the rally participants, vehicle flow was obstructed. We persuaded the workers to voluntarily come down, but they did not comply, so we decided to install safety mats. The participants obstructed this, so we exercised minimal physical force to arrest them on the spot on charges of obstructing official duties and traffic obstruction."

The NHRCK confirmed through video footage at the time that the victim repeatedly identified himself as the union chairman and engaged in dialogue with the commanding police officers at the scene. Since there was little risk of flight or evidence tampering, the commission found the on-the-spot arrests unjustified. The victim’s resistance was limited to splashing water remaining in a 500ml water bottle, so pressing his face against the ground and handcuffing him behind his back was deemed an excessive use of physical force. The NHRCK recommended conducting job training for investigators to prevent similar human rights violations from occurring.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.