Outcry over far right-wing politician's 'immigration interrogation' videos

A right-wing candidate for the April 10 general election is sparking controversy for allegedly interrogating foreigners he suspects to be illegal immigrants and attempting to forcibly "arrest" them.

Park Jin-jae, left, from the far right-wing Liberty Unification Party, talks after capturing a Tanzanian, whom he alleges is an illegal immigrant, in a clip uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 24. A foreigner, right, is being apprehended by Park and his associate in a video uploaded on March 9 on TikTok. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A far right-wing candidate for the April 10 general election is sparking controversy for allegedly interrogating foreigners he suspects to be illegal immigrants and attempting to forcibly "arrest" them.

Videos circulating on social media, including on X, formally Twitter, show Park Jin-jae, a candidate from the far-right Liberty Unification Party, apparently forcibly detaining foreigners.

Netizens claim that it is wrong for him to "take the law into his own hands" and accuse him of "violating human rights."

In a video uploaded on March 9 on TikTok, Park is seen yelling at a foreigner to come to him and ordering his associate to "take hold" of the foreigner in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang.

Park and his associates are later seen grabbing the foreigner by the collar, asking for his nationality, and putting pressure on the foreigner’s stomach and strangling his neck after the foreigner attempted to run away.

In another video posted last month, Park claims to have captured a Tanzanian and reported the foreigner to the police. He adds that he received a report that the man had a fraudulent ID and had been illegally residing in Korea for two years.

Park also appears to scuffle with a police officer in a recent video posted on March 19, after reporting an unlicensed motorcycle.

"What legal right do you have to stop a passing motorcycle?" the officer says. "Do foreigners passing by have no human rights?"

Park contends that he "has the right to catch criminals in the act [according to the law]" and questions whether "there are any human rights for illegal wrongdoers."

“How many people did you illegally detain?” the officer asked.

Numerous videos of him and his supporters arresting such foreigners and handing them over to the police have been uploaded on his social media, including TikTok, since 2022, although he has no authority to apprehend people.

Park defends his actions as “an activity to protect Korean citizens” and claims that “anybody can arrest a person when caught in the act, and illegal immigrants are criminals caught red-handed.”

However, some argue that violating the Immigration Act cannot be seen as a red-handed crime, as the violation involves breaking administrative regulations, not criminal law.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea received a complaint regarding Park’s activity on March 20 and initiated an investigation, according to the news outlet Kyunghyang Shinmun Thursday.

“[The police and the immigration office] failed to stop Park’s violent acts toward immigration offenders, including illegally arresting them, though they were aware [of the situation],” the complaint said.

The police are also investigating Park, according to the report.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]