U.S. riots hit Korean businesses
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/ Yonhap
Ongoing tension in Ferguson, Missouri ― where a grand jury decided on Monday not to charge a white police officer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager ― is hurting Korean businesses there.
After the decision, more than 2,000 guards were sent to the area to deal with rioting protesters. More than 40 people were arrested early on Wednesday.
Lee Gye-song, the former president of the Korean American Association, told Yonhap News Agency that a beauty products store and a cell phone store ― both Korean-owned and badly damaged during August protests ― were now burned down.
“The whole building was burned because it is on the main street that leads to the Ferguson police station,” Lee was quoted as saying.
He said that about six other Korean-owned shops had also been partially burned and that looters had broken the windows.
“We are recommending that shop owners close their stores for a while,” he said, adding that most violence was from protesters who had traveled a long way, rather than local citizens.
“The riots broke out after additional National Guardsmen and policemen were deployed and stronger orders were given to clamp down on the frontlines of the protests,” he said.
The South Korean consulate general in Chicago, which oversees Korean affairs in Missouri, said that because protests were still taking place, it had yet to estimate how much damage the Korean community in Ferguson had suffered.
The consulate officials said they were continually checking whether there have been any casualties involving Koreans in the area.