Police troops report cases of abuse

The government has launched a large-scale investigation into physical assault and other abuses among conscripted police officers, with more than 100 cases reported in Seoul alone.

Starting from Wednesday, the National Police Agency is interviewing junior police officers who have been in the service for less than six months in its local branches nationwide.

In the first day of the inspection, the police questioned 2,334 junior policemen and 191 of them, including 116 in Seoul, said they had experienced some form of abuse.

Of them, 69 said they were physically assaulted, while 22 others said they suffered verbal or other kinds of abuse.

One officer said that an older officer slapped him in the face because he snored while sleeping. There were also some sexual abuse cases, with some officers subsequently demanding counseling.

In the unprecedented nationwide investigation, the police ordered junior officers to pack their belongings before participating in the interview.

To protect officers and encourage them to speak out, officers are being given a special holiday and will be sent to another barracks for safety should they report any abuse.

The police said it will review the reports and punish those involved in abuse. Senior officers will also face punishment if they are found to have neglected such reports.

The massive investigation comes amid public concerns growing over abuse cases among conscripted police officers.

The latest case involved six junior officers who ran away from their unit on Sunday to avoid prolonged abuse by older officers. As their complaints were ignored by their commanding officer, they disclosed the abuse cases through the internet.

According to them, older officers physically assaulted junior policemen several times and forced them to eat rotten tofu. They also habitually extorted money and credit cards from them.

The Gangwon Police Agency on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for four riot police officers and booked 11 others for their alleged involvement in assaulting and abusing junior policemen.

The agency also arrested five commanding and senior officers for neglect of duty.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)