By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The prosecution has demanded a three-year prison term for a riot police officer who refused to return to his unit in protest of a police crackdown on a candlelit rally against the import of American beef.
Prosecutors Friday asked the Seoul Northern District Court to hand down the jail term to officer Lee Gil-jun, who was indicted in August on charges of deserting his squad, not responding to senior officers' orders, and defaming his seniors.
On July 27, Lee, a 25-year-old riot policeman of six months, held a media briefing after a three-day leave to announce his resolution not to rejoin his Jungnang Police Station unit in northeastern Seoul. He said he was forced to suppress protesters, which he said was against his conscience, and called for the abolishment of the riot police system. A few days later, he presented himself to police for questioning.
Lee said in court, ``Everything has happened in a flash since I decided not to return to the unit. I listened to my conscience and acted on it.''
In South Korea, a man can be dispatched to an ordinary military camp or the riot police on a random basis after being drafted.
``If officer Lee had the faith to keep democracy and a law-abiding society, he should not have refused the order to crack down on demonstrators. Lee also disparaged riot police, who exercise public power fairly, by calling them a means of violence,'' a prosecutor said.
A member of civic coalition Korea Solidarity for Conscientious Objection said, ``Lee can be considered a conscientious objector, and such people usually get an 18-month jail term. His seems too harsh.''
Lee was not the only riot police officer to protest the rally crackdown. In June, another riot policeman (Lee Gye-deok) requested a transfer to military camp, claiming police work was against his political beliefs and conscience. He was confined in the guardhouse for a month.