[Reporter’s Notebook] 'Capsaicin Controversy'... The Nature of Suppression Is Determined by 'Illegal Acts'

On November 14, 2015, during the 'Minjung General Strike' rally attended by 130,000 people, 51 participants were arrested for obstructing official duties. In the process, over 100 police officers were injured, and it was a representative violent protest in which farmer Baek Nam-gi died after being hit by a water cannon fired by the police during the crackdown. The candlelight rallies demanding the resignation of President Park Geun-hye, which began in late October 2016, a year later, were different. Held 20 times until March of the following year with a total of 16 million participants, there were no violent incidents. Naturally, the police did not take measures such as dispersing the protesters.

The reporter served as a conscripted police officer in the 3rd Mobile Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency from March 26, 2015, to December 25, 2016, covering this period. Having experienced numerous rally and protest (jipsi) sites as a member of the Mobile Unit, the reporter felt that the method of suppression is mostly determined by the participants of the protests.

This is due to the Korean police's policy of 'patient suppression.' Patient suppression is a method of controlling protests with a passive stance, such as forming a 'human wall' and requesting voluntary dispersal. Even minor violations of the Assembly and Demonstration Act are handled with caution and guidance instead of law enforcement. Police officers are trained not to respond even if protesters spit in their faces. The vivid memory remains of a summer day standing still, unable to wipe the phlegm streaming down the helmet of the full suppression gear.

There has been backlash since the police decided to reintroduce capsaicin for riot control. On the 1st, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, "Capsaicin, like water cannons, is a relic that should disappear into the annals of history," adding, "Anti-democratic violence will no longer be tolerated."

However, the nature of suppression does not depend on the police. The police principles were no different between the Minjung General Strike, which was criticized for excessive suppression, and the candlelight rallies, which are regarded as opening a new horizon for peaceful protests. What differed was only the level of illegal acts by the protest participants.

Strengthening police suppression equipment does not mean a shift to a reckless hardline suppression policy. Criticizing the police's strict response to illegal acts is not the right approach. Civil society should establish a mature protest culture so that there is no need to deploy strong suppression equipment. Our society has already experienced achieving goals through lawful and peaceful assemblies.