Active Police Officer Files Human Rights Complaint on "Coerced COVID-19 Vaccination"... Colleagues Also Support (Comprehensive)

Reported Truth on Police Internal Network
150 Comments from Fellow Officers... Sympathy for the Petition's Purpose

A police officer receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A current police officer has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming that the police leadership effectively forced COVID-19 vaccinations.

According to the police on the 8th, Sergeant Kim Ki-beom, chairman of the workplace council at Gimhae Jungbu Police Station in Gyeongnam, submitted a complaint through the Human Rights Commission's website on the 30th of last month, alleging that the police leadership violated employees' human rights.

In the complaint, Sergeant Kim reportedly claimed, "Contrary to the initial promise that vaccination would be voluntary, the police leadership coerced officers into getting vaccinated." It also included that "supervisors, following orders from leadership to increase vaccination rates, compared vaccination reservation rates by police station, department, and precinct, psychologically pressuring employees."

Sergeant Kim received the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine on the 29th of last month, one day before filing the complaint. On the 6th of this month, he posted on the police internal network 'Polnet' to disclose the complaint to the Human Rights Commission. In his post, he pointed out, "I could hardly believe this was happening in the police in 2021," and added, "The basic rights of me and my colleagues as citizens were not protected in the name of the 'organization.'"

Field police officers sympathize with Sergeant Kim's complaint and show support. As of this day, over 150 comments have been posted on Sergeant Kim's message, most of which are positive. One frontline officer said, "Since issues related to vaccination are ongoing, entrusting the judgment of human rights violations to an external objective institution is a good approach," and added, "This became possible with the establishment of the police workplace council."

Vaccinations for police officers have been underway since the 26th of last month. Commissioner General Kim Chang-ryong emphasized that "vaccination is voluntary," but during a nationwide video conference of city and provincial police chiefs, he instructed to foster an atmosphere encouraging employees to get vaccinated.

Subsequently, internal resistance has continued as various police stations issued official documents encouraging vaccination, effectively making it compulsory. Particularly, after a female police officer in her 50s from the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency was hospitalized in the intensive care unit due to symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage, similar cases have occurred in Jeonbuk and Gangwon, increasing frontline officers' anxiety about vaccination.