Update on the Columbian Man Assaulted at A Busan Costco

The Joong Ang Ilbo has an update on the racial incident involving a Columbian man at a Busan Costco.  His activism after the incident led to positive change at the Busan police department that handled his case:

After the incident took place, did the Busan Yeonjae Police Department chief (Ryu Sam-yeong) call to apologize?

That’s correct. On Sunday (April 2) night, three days after, he apologized, saying, “We do have training, but it was very insufficient and we will expand training pertaining to foreigners.” On the next day, I called again and requested to have an internal racial discrimination training session. I went for a lecture to the police station on April 5. When I met him at the chief’s office, he said, “Of police chiefs countrywide, I am the only one with a perm. Of policemen, there are those who dislike hearing a lecture held by a foreigner. I ask for your understanding even though the audience may be small.”

When I actually went to the lecture hall, there were 250 policeman cramped inside. The policeman who handled the incident at the time attended and apologized to me in person. I learned for the first time in my 16 years living in Korea that there was an external affairs section that investigated incidents involving foreigners.

What kind of thoughts did you have?

With all that’s happened, the police chief can be called a hero. Anyone can write or post something. However, the police chief went above and beyond what he had to do and went a step further. In the end, the incident ended on a positive note. I counted, and there are 252 police departments in Korea. The change at the Yeonjae Police Department cannot stop there. The remaining 251 police chiefs must take an interest in safety measures for foreigners.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the Korean man involved in this incident ultimately giving a half hearted apology for the incident as well.