Another horrible Korean cop story.

Another disgusting story for the "Korean Cops Are Utterly Worthless" category. Here's an excerpt from an article by Matthew Lamers in the Korea Herald (edit: you now have to pay to read the story on the KH site, but it was copied and pasted here):

David Kim, 37, and his wife, Kim Yun-hee were out for what they described as a midnight snack in Dapsimni, eastern Seoul, when they were attacked by a group they described as four gangsters on March 9.

David said after eating they went to a singing room, where the gangsters confronted them in the lobby, attaching various slurs to the word "foreigner," then the couple was physically attacked. He said the attackers broke his jaw in half and tried to rape Yun-hee. His wife came away from the incident with bruises and broken teeth.

"When I came back to Korea, my motherland, I obviously hoped for belonging and acceptance -- but it's really not there," said David.

"It's tough for me because when I go back to Canada, I'm not accepted as a white person, and in Korea I'm not accepted as Korean. I had a tough time growing up in Canada because there was a lot of racism," he explained.

In an interview at the hospital, David said: "My jaw is split in two. My front teeth are gone. They dragged (Yun-hee) into a norebang room, were holding her down and said they were going to rape her."

But she managed to break away for long enough to call the police. By the time they arrived at the scene, three of the four attackers had fled, but David's said his hope for justice didn't last long.

"At the police station it was apparent they (the police and one of the attackers) knew each other. They asked me to sign a statement that was completely false. They weren't concerned about my medical condition and no ambulance and no doctor was called, even though I had a broken jaw, and (Yun-hee) had been slapped around and almost raped."

What's most amazing, David said, was when the police telephoned Yun-hee and told her that no charges were going to be placed.

"Two days later the police called my wife and said we should take a settlement."

He added that the police investigator has not taken statements from the victims, now over two weeks past the incident, and he worries about a just outcome when only one side has the ear of the police.

"We got attacked by gang members and the police actually told us, the victims, that they, the attackers, aren't going to press charges. It's amazing," said David.

You don't have to look very hard for examples of Korean cops being absolutely worthless. But if you're interested in more examples of Korean cops being downright ugly toward foreigners, go read the Metropolitician's account of being arrested for trying to report harassment to the police, or the story of Winter Raymond's shoddy treatment by cops and by hospital staff after being assaulted and nearly raped. Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever heard of a run-in with the police here that ever turned out good for a foreigner.


Cops sparkling!