South Korea has a young and vibrant, albeit occasionally misguided, democracy. By now you’ve probably heard one too many stories about the protests that have been rocking downtown Seoul over the past month. Time and again these peaceful demonstrations have erupted into absolute violence. South Korean civilians have clashed with the police, destroyed government property, and have even tried to march on Cheong Wa Dae (also known as the Blue House). Many people are horrified that the violent demonstrations have gone on this long.

Exercising your democratic rights means you have the right to free speech and expression. It does not mean that you can physically assault the police officers that are doing their best to maintain some semblance of stability within the city. Exercising your democratic rights means that you are allowed to picket/protest Lee Myung-bak’s policies or even declare that you want to impeach him. It does not, however, grant you the right to physically march on Cheong Wa Dae, destroying everything in your path, so that you can secure an audience with the president.

Today the President has declared that the government will finally begin cracking down on violent demonstrations. Personally, I can’t believe it took this long for the administration to make a stand. Quite frankly, the current situation, here in Seoul, is rather embarrassing for the government, which has been rather coy in its approach toward the public. However, it’s never too late to start punishing the criminals responsible for Seoul’s current state of affairs.