(Changes order of Kang’s name in paragraph 9 at his request)
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) -An association of Korean Americans in Los Angeles has criticised Donald Trump Jr., the son of the U.S. president, for “reckless” comments on social media and urged him not to exploit a riot that devastated their community 33 years ago.
The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles also said an operation by the U.S. administration to round up suspected undocumented immigrants lacked “due legal procedures”.
Donald Trump Jr. posted a photograph of a man with a rifle on a rooftop on X with a message: “Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!” referring to actions by the Korean American community during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles.
The federation in separate statements expressed concern over the developments in Los Angeles over the last week and said their businesses were seriously affected by the crackdown and arrests.
“While the unrest has not yet subsided, Donald Trump Jr. … showed the recklessness of posting a post on X on Sunday, June 8, mocking the current unrest by mentioning the ‘Rooftop Korean’ from the LA riots 33 years ago,” it said in a statement on Monday Los Angeles time.
“As the eldest son of the current president and an influencer with approximately 15 million followers, his actions could pose a huge risk in these icy times, and we strongly urge the past trauma of the Korean people be never, ever exploited for any purpose.”
In 1992, some members of the community, armed with firearms, took up positions on store rooftops and reportedly fired on looters, giving rise to the “Rooftop Koreans” folklore.
They had taken their defence into their own hands after they felt official law enforcement was not protecting them from unrest following the police beating of a black motorist, Rodney King.
Hyungwon Kang, a photojournalist who reported for the Los Angeles Times during the 1992 unrest, said on X, in a reply to Donald Trump Jr.’s post, the picture had been taken by him and it was used without his permission.
“You’re using the photo out of context. Please take it down,” Kang said.
Kang told Reuters by email his photograph depicted a different situation when law enforcers were not providing adequate protection.
“(The) current situation of people expressing a widespread disagreement about an excessive and aggressive enforcement by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while LAPD is present and keeping the city in order is not even remotely similar to the dire situation for Korean Americans of those dark hours during the 1992 L.A. Riots,” he said.
Kang said he was consulting a lawyer after having no response to his request that Trump Jr. take down the post.
No-one from the Washington administration could immediately be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Jack Kim, Hyunsu Yim, Ju-mn Park, Josh Smith; editing by Barbara Lewis)
