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Engrish Mufffin
Joined: 09 Jun 2013
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:50 am Post subject: All hell broke loose in Gangnam today because of gangsters |
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I was there today as the government sent gangsters to disrupt the business of the food vendors. They were assaulting people right in front of the police and the police did nothing! Then the gangsters threw the food cart into the street. Later as I was leaving, I saw them break a guy's camcorder because he was filming. Grade-A scumbags.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj4IPtsiuWY |
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Jake_Kim
Joined: 27 Aug 2005 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:19 am Post subject: |
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In this case, they're not 'gangsters' per se, but contracted enforcers in plainclothes under outsourcing contract with respective district office regulators, where these food stalls operate illegally without permits. The cops are briefed in advance by the authorities, and they give much leeway to those hired muscles when it comes to inevitable violence in the process. |
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Speck7
Joined: 05 Sep 2012
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:20 am Post subject: |
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why were they doing this? |
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Rockhard
Joined: 11 Dec 2013
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:24 am Post subject: |
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That's a liberal interpretation of events. That food cart was sitting right in the middle of a sidewalk, illegally. How do you know they were gangsters and just not people from the local stores who are sick and tired on paying enormous rents for that location, while anyone with a cart can operate there for free? Maybe the cop thought it was just to boot the vendor out. Now of course it's all a bit barbaric to us. In our countries the cops would just have a food cart like that towed and that would be the end of it. |
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Engrish Mufffin
Joined: 09 Jun 2013
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Rockhard wrote: |
That's a liberal interpretation of events. That food cart was sitting right in the middle of a sidewalk, illegally. How do you know they were gangsters and just not people from the local stores who are sick and tired on paying enormous rents for that location, while anyone with a cart can operate there for free? Maybe the cop thought it was just to boot the vendor out. Now of course it's all a bit barbaric to us. In our countries the cops would just have a food cart like that towed and that would be the end of it. |
The lady in the video said they were gangsters and didn't have any form of identification.
Also, these men did not conduct themselves professionally at all. They threw the street cart into traffic and were damaging the stalls with hammers and assaulting the vendors. Here is another video I found where they use the hammer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxObRHwTkuI
Not to mention they broke someone's camcorder by smashing it. |
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andrewchon

Joined: 16 Nov 2008 Location: Back in Oz. Living in ISIS Aust.
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Maybe somebody will do a Mohamed Bouazizi and we'll have a 'Gangnam Spring', to end the 'gangster style'.  |
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chuckster
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:38 am Post subject: |
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The food cart may be there illegally, but does that give the government (which ever level it came from) to have other citizens destroy other's property? Kind of doubt it. There are ways to do it, but that's not the right way, especially with almost everyone walking around with a video camera built into their cellphone. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:38 am Post subject: |
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Saw this on Facebook:
"But the thing is the street vendors are not just 'small food truck owners'. They have their own union thing and you guys have no idea about how much money they pay to get those spots and how much money they make without paying any tax. MANY of them make 5-10 times more than normal English teachers. How do I know? One of my relatives are one of them. They dress cheap because they don't want to be seen that they make a lot of money doing that. But they drive imported cars."
Last edited by World Traveler on Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:39 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:39 am Post subject: |
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Did they have a permit to be there?
Did they have an operating licence?
Did they have insurance?
Did they have a health inspection certificate?
I bet they didn't. |
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Engrish Mufffin
Joined: 09 Jun 2013
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:43 am Post subject: |
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Stan Rogers wrote: |
Did they have a permit to be there?
Did they have an operating licence?
Did they have insurance?
Did they have a health inspection certificate?
I bet they didn't. |
Does any of that warrant being assaulted and having your property destroyed?
Fine them, arrest them like any other civilized country would do. This is straight out of China or Russia's playbook. |
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Stain
Joined: 08 Jan 2014
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:44 am Post subject: |
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Man, how long does it take them to topple a food stand? If they were paid enforcers, then I would say they need to be evaluated. How many times did they say 1, 2, 3.... |
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Steelrails

Joined: 12 Mar 2009 Location: Earth, Solar System
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:47 am Post subject: |
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These guys are like 1930s strike breakers or the Pinkertons. Contracted muscle to give the government a plausibly deniable level of distance. |
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jvalmer

Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:50 am Post subject: |
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chuckster wrote: |
The food cart may be there illegally, but does that give the government (which ever level it came from) to have other citizens destroy other's property? Kind of doubt it. There are ways to do it, but that's not the right way, especially with almost everyone walking around with a video camera built into their cellphone. |
Have you seen how people treat the police here? If they sent the police all the vendors would do is push the cops around and stay put. Short of sending in riot police this is probably the only way to get them to move.
But, I do hope street vendors stay around, legally that is. They're becoming increasingly harder to find in developed Asian countries, where they used to be everywhere a decade ago. |
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ttompatz

Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:58 am Post subject: |
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At least they aren't the death squads that Mayor Duterte uses to perform summary executions down in Davao to clean up the streets of minor nuisances.
They only got their carts busted up.
This ain't Kansas (Washington/Ottawa/London/Dublin/Canberra/Wellington/Pretoria) there Toto.
It might also serve to remember that this was a dictatorship with a firm military hand up until the 1987 elections (some 26 years ago).
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jvalmer

Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:59 am Post subject: |
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Engrish Mufffin wrote: |
Stan Rogers wrote: |
Did they have a permit to be there?
Did they have an operating licence?
Did they have insurance?
Did they have a health inspection certificate?
I bet they didn't. |
Does any of that warrant being assaulted and having your property destroyed?
Fine them, arrest them like any other civilized country would do. This is straight out of China or Russia's playbook. |
The police in Korea don't want to look heavy-handed because of the history of the police in Korea. History being the the not-so-distant dictatorial past and the Japanese-colonial police. Before 1995-ish if you were arrested, good chance you'll be tortured into a confession, or come back a vegetable. So short of sending in the riot-police, hired goons are a way to enforce bylaws. |
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