South Korea is determined to establish its authority after months of turmoil over US beef imports.

Police have arrested the number two man of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and are pursuing the president and secretary general of the national umbrella union on a variety of charges including illegal demonstration. Over the weekend, police also detained 42 protesters who staged nightly demonstrations in Seoul’s Jongno.

If the above police actions prove the sternness of the government’s determination to establish law and order after months of shattered authority in the turmoil over US beef imports, their failure in —or restraint from—arresting the alleged masterminds of the prolonged candlelight vigils show the limits of their efforts. The leaders of a coalition of anti-government, progressive civic groups are taking refuge in the backyard of Jogye Buddhist Temple in central Seoul.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his ministers last week vowed “fewer words and tougher action”, saying that three months were long enough to test the patience of both the government and the good citizens who suffered tremendously from the disorder that gripped the centre of the capital since late April. The chief of Seoul Police was replaced, and Seoul City Hall and the National Police Agency are demanding organisers of demonstrations pay for the damage to public facilities and vehicles caused by illegal protest actions.

The police’s going after the governing body of the KCTU was by far its toughest action yet against radical labour movements. Union leaders had been individually charged for illegal strikes or obstruction of business in the past but never before has the entire leadership faced arrest. The unionists and anti-government activists are crying foul over what they call the “return of an age of repression under Lee Myung-bak dictatorship” and are threatening massive resistance.

At this point, many fear the advent of Round Two in civil resistance, particularly with the unions at large businesses and public corporations preparing for ‘summer struggles’ for their annual collective bargaining. The government and anti-government forces are on a collision course, and the authorities from President Lee and Prime Minister Han Seung-soo on down should now be ready for a make or break situation.

Some of the circumstances for the government’s law and order campaign have improved from those of “Round One”. The National Assembly is in session after a long delay in opening the new legislature, which was elected in early April. Parties are now debating national issues, ranging from US beef imports to economic policy failures. The government now has a good excuse to discourage the ‘direct democracy’ held in the streets of the capital city.

More significant is the people’s weariness over the protracted chaos. Citizens were angered by the increasingly militant behaviour of demonstrators, while they were also disappointed by the sometimes too meek and sometimes excessively wild response of the police. The past three months was a time of punishment for the government by the people for its initial mistakes. The government’s show of resolve to make a fresh start deserves encouragement.

The nation can no longer afford law-breaking protest actions for any cause. Social and political stability should be re-established so that all energy can be directed to weather economic difficulties. What is required at the moment is strong confidence of the Lee administration in its law enforcement capabilities. A real test is awaiting the president who will return to Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, on July 30 from his first ‘holiday’ since February.

With their patience thoroughly drained, people want to see a different president and a different government. But the authorities should be given one serious word of warning: take utmost care not to overstep into the realm of the freedom of expression and other democratic values. (The Korea Herald/ AsiaNews)