Police to phase out 'chicken cage' buses

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- Police said Wednesday they plan to phase out the use of their current riot buses, which are covered in a mesh of steel bars, as they try to shed the vehicle's unfortunate nickname, "the chicken cage."

The dingy-looking buses are reminiscent of South Korea's previous totalitarian
regimes. In the decades spanning from the early 1960s to the late 80s, violent
clampdowns and indiscriminate arrests of democracy protesters were commonplace.

The South Korean police force's image has improved over the past 10 years. But a
fresh wave of public criticism erupted recently as officers came down hard on
citizens protesting the resumption of U.S. beef imports, arresting over a
thousand people.

"As a policeman, it doesn't feel good to hear someone say it," Yang
Young-woo, a senior officer in the National Police Agency, said of the derogatory
term for the police bus. "It reminds us of the past when police had a bad
image."

New police buses featuring a polycarbonate glazing, which is heat- and
shatter-resistant and gives a clear view of the inside, are already operating on
a limited scale in Seoul, officers said. Their use will expand nationwide next
year.

Polycarbonate windows are about 50 times stronger than ordinary glass windows
and can withstand an impact from an iron pipe and the heat from fire grenades,
according to officials.

Police say the transition is cost-effective, even though polycarbonate glazing
costs 3.5 million won (US$3,000) per bus, about 1 million won more than ordinary
windows.

Police have recently filed a suit against the organizers of the U.S. beef
protests, demanding 1.1 billion won compensation for their alleged destruction of
police buses and other equipment.

hkim@yna.co.kr

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