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Outcry as South Korean police officers ‘treated like homeless people’ at Apec summit
Officers deployed to the Gyeongju meeting faced poor working conditions, sparking criticism and an investigation into their ordeal
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After last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) events in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang province – which saw up to 19,000 police officers deployed daily from across South Korea – Kim Keon-pyo, director of the Korean National Police Workers Council, said the reports he received from officers on the ground were far from commendable.
“They said they were treated like homeless people,” Kim said.
Angered by their accounts, Kim began collecting photos of the poor working conditions officers faced during the Apec events. The council is now holding a photo exhibition in Seoul this week displaying those conditions, sparking criticism of the treatment of deployed officers and renewed calls for better working conditions.
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On Tuesday, photos displayed outside the National Police Agency in Seoul’s Seodaemun district showed the meagre meals provided to officers and police standing by in a cinema.
The council plans to hold additional exhibitions in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday and Friday.
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Among the photos were images of meals served to some officers – a scene familiar to Kim Kyung-sik, another council director who was deployed to Gyeongju.
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