Police Chief: "If Illegal Activities Continue, Plan to Arrest Jeonjangyeon Leader and Others"

Citizen Inconvenience and Staff Assault Must Not Be Overlooked
Seoul Cheongjang Restrains Comments on 'Disaster Poor Response'

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated on the 9th, "If the National Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (Jeonjangyeon) continues illegal activities during their subway boarding protests, we are preparing stronger measures under a strict policy including on-site arrests."

At a regular press briefing that day, Commissioner Yoon said, "If Jeonjangyeon causes physical harm to our police officers or Seoul Metro employees performing their official duties during protests, we cannot overlook it." He added, "It would be good if a positive solution comes out from the meeting between Jeonjangyeon and the Seoul Mayor, but if not, similar cases causing inconvenience to citizens and injuries to police officers will repeat. Our basic policy is to prevent in advance but respond strictly to illegal acts."

Regarding media reports that he held a meeting on the 6th titled 'Strengthening On-site Measures for Jeonjangyeon Situation' and considered arresting executives including representative Park Kyung-seok if illegal acts are repeated, Commissioner Yoon said, "I will not deny it," and explained, "It means we are considering it as an alternative depending on future developments." Jeonjangyeon has paused their subway boarding protests until the 19th after demanding a meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 4th.

On the recent case of a Chinese national who refused quarantine and fled after testing positive for COVID-19, Commissioner Yoon said, "After the defection, we reinforced personnel upon request from the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Disease Control Agency." He added, "We increased the number of locations from 3 to 6 and personnel from 58 to 78, preparing to prevent similar cases in the future."

Regarding the special crackdown on charter fraud that began in July last year, Commissioner Yoon explained, "As of the 1st of this month, 399 cases and 884 people have been arrested, with 83 of them detained." By crime type, there were 34 for gap investment without capital, 493 for false guarantees and insurance, and 181 for violations of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act. The police are also continuing investigations on 378 cases involving 1,378 people nationwide centered on provincial police agencies. Commissioner Yoon emphasized, "We will thoroughly investigate to uncover the masterminds behind these cases."

Meanwhile, regarding personnel plans for Kim Kwang-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who is likely to be sent without detention for inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster and is currently on leave, Commissioner Yoon refrained from commenting, saying, "I have nothing to say regarding the special investigation headquarters’ investigation and personnel matters." About himself, who is likely to have his investigation closed before indictment, he said, "It would not be appropriate to comment on the special investigation headquarters’ results, but I will take a role commensurate with the investigation outcome (including expressing my position)."