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Korean demonstrators arrested in violent anti-globalization protests in Hong Kong have claimed police there fired rubber bullets in the attempt to quell the demonstration. Hong Kong police arrested hundreds of Koreans for staging illegal protests during the WTO Ministerial Meeting there last week. Most have been let go.
The legal aftermath could be protracted if the Korean protesters charge Hong Kong police with excessive force. A Hong Kong court has scheduled a first hearing on the protests on Friday and will rule either then or at a second hearing around Jan. 10.
Democratic Labor Party lawmaker Kang Ki-kap said Wednesday one of the arrested, Kang Seung-kyu, told him he was hit in the thigh by a round black rubber projectile measuring 4 cm across.
Two other Korean protesters were shot by rubber bullets but kept this quiet for fear of being thought of as hooligans, the opposition lawmaker said.
The Korean Consul-General in Hong Kong Cho Hwan-bok said police there told him they only used tear gas to quell the protests and had no orders to fire rubber bullets, but they promised to check whether rubber bullets were nonetheless used. Hong Kong police is to fire rubber bullets only when protests turn into riots.
Meanwhile, 10 Korean demonstrators who decided to stay in Hong Kong to campaign for the release of protesters who remain in custody said they would perform 3,000 bows in front of the territory¡¯s Kwuntong Court until Friday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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