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raising concerns that it could lead to an increase in police violence to suppress protests.

Meeting with Grand National Party lawmakers, Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said he would give greater immunity to police officers, even if they cause physical harm in the course of carrying out their duties. This is being criticized for encouraging police violence.

Appearing at an invitational debate hosted by the “Citizen Unity Forum,” a GNP research group, at the Federation of Korean Industries on Yeouido on September 3, Kim said that even if the opponent experienced some “physical loss” in the course of a policeman enforcing the law, the officer would be immune if he was engaged in a justified execution of his duties. This statement by Kim, who has called for a stern response to illegal demonstrations, is being taken as a call for police to actively exercise force. A Justice Ministry official explained that the statement meant that the ministry would broaden the scope of justified defense in physical clashes that occur as police officers lawfully execute their duties.

Civic groups have criticized that while prosecutors and police seriously punish citizens who engage in violence in demonstrations, they have been lukewarm about citizens who, injured due to excessive force by police, sue or press charges against police officers. Lawyer Song Ho-chang said that it is the courts that decide whether the method used by police to put down a demonstration is justified self-defense or not, and that the minister’s comment about immunity was overstepping his bounds and could be misused to limit the basic right of the people by encouraging the abuse of public power at demonstrations.

Kim also responded to a call from lawmaker Ko Heung-kil to strictly deal with defendants who fail to turn up for subpoenas three times, including automatic indictments and arrest warrants, by saying that it was not proper to keep sending subpoenas -- sometimes even nine of them -- even to people who have publicly stated they will not show up. He said he completely agreed with arresting or indicting without investigation individuals who twice or thrice fail to respond to subpoenas, and that he was instructing prosecutors to do so. It appears he made the statement with KBS President Jung Yun-joo or the production team of “The Producer’s Notebook” in mind.

Kim also labeled the candlelight demonstrations as “demonstrations that began with nonsensical ghost stories about beef.” About labor-management issues, he said that as a matter which required a firm resolve to properly institute law and principles, the ministry have been guiding companies in techniques for dealing with it.

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