Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Police officer lodges human rights petition for 'being forced' to get vaccine
Kim Chang-yong, National Police Agency Commissioner General, receives an AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus at a public health center in Jongno, Seoul, April 27. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
A police officer has lodged a petition with the nation's human rights watchdog claiming that he and his colleagues have been forced by their superiors to receive COVID-19 inoculations.
Kim Gi-beom, a sergeant at Gimhae Jungbu Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province, filed the petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, April 30, against National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Kim Chang-yong and head of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency Lee Moon-soo.
In the petition, Sergeant Kim accused Commissioner Kim and Lee of violating officers' human rights, privacy and right to pursue happiness stipulated in the Constitution.
“Unlike their promise that each individual officer will be given a choice on whether to receive a vaccine, superiors at police agencies have virtually coerced officers into getting it,” he said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency.
The sergeant, who received an AstraZeneca jab April 29, said he was one of many officers who were inoculated out of fear that they would be penalized if they failed to do so. At some police stations, members who refused to participate in the vaccination program were asked to submit letters explaining why or have a meeting with their superiors, according to Kim.
“For many officers, any possible side effect from the vaccine, however small the chances, would cause significant damage to their households,” he said.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) began AstraZeneca vaccination for social services workers including police officers and firefighters, April 26, about a month earlier than its initial schedule in June, citing the necessity to preemptively immunize the group.
Eligible police officers were advised to receive their first shots from April 26 to May 8, after making an appointment through the NPA.
On the first day of the rollout, at an online meeting with heads of provincial police agencies, Commissioner Kim told them to encourage officers to actively participate in the program.
He also asked the heads of several agencies why they were showing relatively low booking rates, a move perceived by some as pressure on them to increase the number of appointments.
But jitters surrounding possible adverse reactions to the AstraZeneca vaccine have made some police officers reluctant to sign up for inoculation, and such concerns deepened following several incidents of severe side effects.
A police officer in his 30s at Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, who received the vaccine on April 29, was diagnosed with having suffered a stroke, Sunday. He experienced dizziness and numbness in his legs two days after inoculation.
On May 2, an officer in her 50s at Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency suffered a stroke three days after receiving the vaccine. She is currently receiving hospital treatment after undergoing two surgeries.
Regarding the cases, the KDCA is currently looking for any causal links between the vaccine and their symptoms.