Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Police say officer won't face disciplinary action over death of man shocked with Taser
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By Jung Min-ho
A police officer who used a Taser to subdue a knife-wielding man last month will not face criminal charges or disciplinary action over the man’s subsequent death, police said on Monday.
The decision follows a police investigation that justified the officer's actions against a man in his 50s, who was attempting to kill his son in his 30s and refused to comply with police orders to drop the weapon at the son’s home in northern Gwangju on April 23.
After being immobilized by the Taser, the attacker initially showed no signs of serious medical distress. However, he passed out due to shortness of breath at Gwangju Bukbu Police Station. At around 7:31 p.m., approximately 100 minutes after the Taser was deployed, the man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
An autopsy showed the cause of death as cardiac arrest caused by external factors, a result suggesting that the Taser shock was the primary reason. But the report also found that the deceased had symptoms of cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle.
But police concluded that the use of the Taser was justified on the grounds that the son was facing immediate danger of severe injury or death at the moment the officer pulled the trigger. After being immobilized, the attacker was apprehended over the attempted murder of his son, police said.
According to the National Police Agency’s guidelines on the use of weapons, a police officer is allowed to use a Taser against a person if there is a reasonable belief that other methods cannot stop the person from inflicting serious injuries on another person or the officer involved.
In Korea where the use of guns or any form of force is strictly regulated, Taser weapons are used by police, albeit in rare cases, as a non-lethal alternative. Over the past three years, the law enforcement devices have been used on 73 occasions in South Jeolla Province, including the greater Gwangju area.