Key Activities
and the amount of media coverage of the incident. However, public interest is not in the personal
information of a migrant worker, but rather the cause of a fire that started at a key national facility.
And even if the public had an interest in the personal information, an investigative agency
should refrain from disclosing that information based on the presumption of innocence and
proportionality.
The police station and the local police agency both accepted the recommendations.
Police use of electric stun guns and human rights violation
The Commission viewed that police use of a stun gun on a union member who had crawled
under a delivery vehicle to protest violated the Guidelines on Use of Electric Stun Guns and was
an infringement upon the union member’s freedom of action. The guidelines provide for the
use of stun guns only when harm is imminent or when there is strong resistance. On April 30, it
recommended the chief of the police station in question to educate the staff on the use of electric
stun guns, and the chief of the National Police Agency to codify the mandatory use of verbal
control prior to using stun guns.
The Commission concluded that the likelihood of an accident does not, by itself, justify use
of stun guns, and that there must be a proven specific need to do so. Video recordings showed
that there was no concern for an accident, and that the petitioner was simply under the vehicle to
protest, rather than to cause harm. The Commission saw no risk that justified the use of an electric
stun gun.
The petitioner was handcuffed only 24 seconds after crawling under the vehicle, and the electric
shock was administered one minute and 15 seconds afterwards. During this time, the police neither
tried to persuade him to come out nor warned him of a stun gun, meaning that no necessary actions
were taken prior. In addition, the police first used the stun gun to drag the petitioner out from under
the car, and six seconds later, used it again. Even though there was resistance from the petitioner,
there were several police officers on the site, making the use of the stun gun even less justifiable.
Meanwhile, the procedures manual of the National Police Agency provides for instances where
electric stun guns can be used, but fails to provide specific details for different levels of resistance.
The Commission ordered further clarification on the usage of electric stun guns for different levels
of resistance, and the mandatory use of verbal warnings, dialogue, and persuasion prior to stun gun
use.
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