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SOUTH KOREA: Injuries of 42 workers by private security in absence of police action

August 31, 2012

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-160-2012

31 August 2012
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SOUTH KOREA: Injuries of 42 workers by private security in absence of police action

ISSUES: Freedom of association; use of mercenaries; torture
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Dasan Human Rights Center, South Korea that thugs acting as private security contractors hired by a company had seriously beaten the trade union members while the police did nothing to prevent it. While the extreme violence was ongoing, the police stationed at the gate of the company and the officers at the nearby station were informed several times through emergency calls. However, no action was taken and this resulted in severe injuries to 42 workers.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the information received, union members of the SJM's Ansan car parts plant voted for a strike and union leaders entered into a partial strike for four hours a day starting from July 12, 2012.

On July 25, the company, SJM, made a contract with a private security company and at 11pm, the security company informed the Ansan Danwon police station that it would deploy its security guards to the workplace at 6 am on July 27.

At 5pm on July 26, SJM informed the labour office that it would impose a lock-out of the Ansan workplace starting from 7am on July 27.

On July 27, three people from the company's management and at about 300 security guards arrived at 4:25 am and started their operation around 5 am at both the main and back gates of the company. With heavily equipped security guards they entered into the plant and used extreme violence against the striking workers by throwing machine parts and spraying them with fire extinguishers. It took two hours for the security guards to evacuate striking workers from the workplace during which 42 of the workers (list of injured workers) were injured.

According to police records, the police received emergency calls three times (4:55 am, 5:01 am and 5:05 am) until they sent a police patrol car to the scene. However, the police failed to take appropriate action to intervene and prevent the violence. In addition, the police station received three more calls (5:23 am, 5:27 am and 5:27 am) informing that the police stationed at the gate of the company did not take any action while the security guards used extreme violence against the striking workers.

At 5:30 am, the head of the Ansan Danwon police station together with three companies of auxiliary police went to the scene. However, they took no action despite witnessing several workers running out of the company in obviously poor and injured condition. When being questioned, the officer in charge said, "We can intervene on request of the company. We only maintain our force". They then left the scene.

When the violence perpetrated by the security guards towards the striking workers and the inappropriate action by the police became known to the public serious criticism arose. As a result the police started an investigation into the SJM Company and the security service company. In addition, the head of the Ansan Danwon police station was suspended on August 3.

Currently, the police investigation is ongoing.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The AHRC notes with concern this trend of privatisation of force and the acquiescence or aiding and abetting of the police. In fact, this is not the first case but has continued in various places of society notably, labour disputes or designated area of redevelopment as the AHRC has so far documented.

In 2008, a case regarding the union members' freedom and labour rights at Kiryung Electronic Co. LTD (AHRC-UAC-237-2008), the AHRC reported how the police did not intervene while violent acts against the union by the private security contractors were ongoing. In 2009, the case regarding a death of a tenant during a land redevelopment dispute (AHRC-STM-253-2009) and explains how violent acts against residents, who were reluctant to move out, led to a tragic suicide of a tenant. In the case of SSangyong motor company in 2009, the police operated together with the private security contractors in order to forcibly disperse the workers on strike (AHRC-STM-158-2009).

The duty of the police is very clear in the law. According to article 3 of Police Act, the police authorities have a duty to safeguard physical integrity of nationals as well as to maintain public peace and order. Article 4 of the Act also states that law enforcement officers have to be impartial and fair while performing their duties. However, the authorities have shown a tendency not to be directly involved in a collision, between private security workers and civilians, where adequate protections are essential for the safety of people involved. Even worse, as shown above, with the due tolerance of the law enforcement agencies, the private security contractors have been using unauthorized private force without being controlled.

Private security contractors are currently regulated under Security Service Industry Act. According to the Act, the security service providers' exercise of power is limited to preventing dangerous situations from occurring (Article 2.1). Privately hired security contractors also prohibited from exercising excessive physical force beyond their role (Article 15.2). The acts also set out that perpetrators who violate these provisions would only be imposed fine.

It is reported that the reason why the security service industries in South Korea have increased is that the financial benefit is much more than the sanction in receiving financial penalty. It is easy to change or register again even when its license is revoked due to the violation. In addition, the private security contractors do normally receive lenient punishment such as suspension of sentence or little fine.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting thorough investigation of this case. Please note that the AHRC has also written separate letters to the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and on the use of mercenaries.

To support this appeal, please click here: 

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

SOUTH KOREA: Injuries of 42 workers by private security in absence of police action

Details of the injured: 42 workers from Ansan SJM plant
Officials involved: Head of Ansan Danwon police station
Date of Incident: July 27, 2012

I am very concerned about the case regarding the safety and rights of the workers who were severely injured by privately hired security contractors at the Ansan SJM plant on 27 July 2012.

According to the information received, extreme violence against the union members was carried out while the union was taking a legitimate collective action on the plant premise. The SJM union members were on a sit-in strike against the previous locking-out decision made by the management.

At 5am, around 300 security guards privately hired by the company entered into the premise in order to oust the union members from the plant. They were highly equipped with armours, shields, batons and fire extinguishers which later used as weapons to assault the workers. During the crackdown, fire extinguishers were discharged and the empty bottles were thrown at the workers as well as metal car parts lying around in the plant.

It was confirmed by the union that 42 workers were injured in total and 5 people were seriously injured as a result of extreme violence. Injured workers have now been hospitalised and some of the workers' injuries would take up to 12 weeks to recover.

I am disturbed by the inaction of the police despite the fact that they were informed of the extreme violence through continued emergency calls. Media also verified that the union had asked for protection prior to the crackdown. Nevertheless, a number of police was stationed around the plant while extreme violence was being carried out. While the head of the police station was appealed, he said that the police force could only intervene on the request by the company. No action was taken.

It is reported that this sort of extreme violence is rampant notably in the place of labour disputes, redevelopment area or construction. A company makes a contract with security service providers and let them do the dirty job in the guardian of the police. I am informed that this is one of other such cases where the workers were beaten by security providers notably, in the case of Kiryung Electronic Co. LTD in 2008, SSangyong motor company in 2009.

I therefore urge you to thoroughly investigate in this case so that those who are relevant to the violence as well as the police who did not take any action are punished according to the law. More importantly, it should be studied how the violence of private security provider was made and operated so that such vicious cycle of violence is no longer used by a particular group of people.

I further note with concern that the security providers having a contract with a company in order to violate the freedom of association of the workers and the violence is encouraged to use at the acquiescence or abetting of the police. Without this cycle is cut, this sort of violence will continue and the very existence of the police is not for the protection for the people but those who have and are in power.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Lee Myung-Bak
President
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu
Seoul, 110-820
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 2 770 4751
E-mail: foreign@president.go.kr or president@cwd.go.kr or president@president.go.kr

2. Mr. Kwon Jea-Jin
Minister of Justice
88 Gwanmon-ro, Gwachon-si
Gyonggi Province 427-760
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +82 2 503 7023
Fax: +82 2 2110 3079 / 503 7046
E-mail: webmaster@moj.go.kr

3. Mr. Han Sang-Dea
Prosecutor General
Supreme Prosecutor's Office
1730-1, Seocho3-dong
Seocho-gu, Seoul
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 2 3480 2555
Tel: +82 2 3480 2000
E-mail: koreapros@spo.go.kr

4. Mr. Maeng Hyeong-Gyu
Minister
Ministry of Public Administration and Security
77-6 Sejongno Jongno-gu, Seoul
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +82 2 2100 3399
E-mail: crm@mopas.go.kr

5. Mr. Kim Ki-Yong
Commissioner General
Korean National Police Agency
Uiju-ro 91(Migeun-dong 209) Seodaemun-gu
Seoul 120-704
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
E-mail: cnpa100@police.go.kr

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-160-2012
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.