National Victory March turned into National Camping Out Day.

According to some estimates, 400,000 to 500,000 citizens turned up in central Seoul on Saturday to attend a peaceful National Victory March. That itself is a great achievement for the movement against the Lee Myung-bak government, given the fact that just a week ago protesters were seriously considering taking self-defensive measures (read: steel pipes and bats) in response to police violence and brutality.

Saturday reminded many people of the early days of protest in May: there was no violence on either side. Police didn’t provoke protesters, and protesters didn’t attempt to march to the presidential Blue House. Instead, various cultural and protest activities took place all over the major streets of central Seoul.

And as the night deepened, a substantial number of people simply camped out on the streets:

Unless the Lee Myung-bak government drastically changes its course of action and chooses to renegotiate over U.S. beef and give up on its privatization plans for national infrastructure industries, every Saturday will likely turn into a National Camping Out Day.

National Victory March scheduled for Saturday

Following the Catholic priests and nuns who held a protest Mass at Seoul Plaza on Monday, Protestant pastors held a protest prayer meeting at the same place on Thursday.

And it was the Buddha’s turn on Friday: a thousand of Buddhist monks held a protest Buddhist service again at the same place in the presence of 30,000 citizens holding candlelights.

The monks ingeniously recreated the famous “Candlelight Girl” character in the form of a Buddhist light—a sacred lamp Buddhists use for various religious purposes:

On the heels of all these religious protest ceremonies comes a National Victory March on Saturday, which is expected to draw the biggest crowd since June 10 to central Seoul. Buoyed by support from various religious groups and organizations, many Koreans are increasingly confident that they will win this fight for health and human rights.

Burger King confirmed to use the beef from cows older than 30 months.

Peter Tan, President of Burger King, Asia Pacific, has clarified on the age of the beef used to make hamburger patties sold in Burger King restaurants in the U.S. Dong-a Ilbo, a right-wing propagandist daily, published last month an op-ed article claiming that Burger King USA and McDonald’s USA use cattle over the age of 30 months for hamburger patties. In his letter to Dong-a Ilbo, Mr. Tan reversed Burgur King Korea’s denial of that claim, and confirmed that the beef Burger King USA uses for hamburger patties may come from cattle older than 30 months of age:

Burger King Korea itself has issued a pop-up notice on Burger King USA’s official position, namely that the hamburger patties sold in Burger King restaurants in the U.S. “are made from 100 percent beef from healthy cows of all ages in accordance with strict U.S. federal regulations”:

This shouldn’t come as a surprise given the fact that about 20% of the beef consumed in the U.S. comes from cows older than 30 months of age.

New Progressive Party headquarters raided by a pro-government group.

The New Progressive Party (NPP) of Korea has been the most visible organization in the two-month long protests of Koreans against the Lee Myung-bak government. As noted before, NPP’s guerrilla media project called ColorTV enjoys a huge following among those Koreans who can’t participate in protest rallies in central Seoul in person for various reasons.

Around 10:30PM of July 1, several men apparently associated with HID, a pro-government extremist organization, raided NPP’s headquarters. According to those at the scene, the intruders went berserk shouting “We will kill Jin Joong-gwon and all the other commies of ColorTV”, and injured some party staff on duty. Jin is the political pundit who’s been serving nearly daily as the chief male reporter of ColorTV.

Lee Myung-sun, the chief female reporter of ColorTV, expressed her concerns over the safety of herself and the staff of ColorTV, but vowed to keep broadcasting candlelight vigils live till the last candlelight is put out.

One wonders whether this incident isn’t an indication that Lee Myung-bak and his right-wing extremist supporters have been caught by surprise by the recent turn of events.

“The darkness has never won against the light.”

As we reported the other day, the National Action Week against the South Korean government’s publication of guidelines on U.S. beef imports witnessed a lot of pain, suffering and blood on the part of peaceful protesters.

In response, about 300 Catholic priests and 200 nuns took to the street on Monday, and held a public protest Mass in central Seoul:

The priests and nuns called to the government for renegotiating over U.S. beef, firing Uh Chung-soo, the head of the National Police Agency, and releasing all the citizens arrested so far. And they called to the citizens for maintaining the principle of nonviolence.

Quoting John 1:5, they declared that “the darkness has never won against the light”. Tens of thousands of citizens attending the Mass burst into applaud and cheers in agreement.

Upon finishing the Mass and the ensuing protest march, some of the priests began a fasting protest at Seoul Plaza:

Also, the priests announced their plan to hold a protest Mass everyday at 7:00PM at Seoul Plaza.

All 14 members of a human rights committee resign in protest against police violence.

Thursday, June 26, the second day of the National Action Week, was again filled with police violence, including use of water canons against peacefully protesting citizens:

Among a countless number of physical abuses by police stood out this case:

He is Ahn Min-seok, a member of the national assembly. According to the United Democratic Party—the leading opposition party Ahn is affiliated with—and news reporters present at the scene, Ahn was surrounded and attacked by police while trying to keep police from arresting citizens around 1 a.m. of June 27.

All 14 members of the human rights committee of the Korean Police Agency resigned in protest against police violence of the 26th. The fact that the committee comprises both conservative and liberal people indicates that concern is widespread over police’s treatment of protesters.

All records broken in approval ratings.

As we reported earlier, Lee Myung-bak was already breaking records in approval ratings for South Korean presidents.

Miraculously, though, the bottomless fall of Lee Myung-bak continues.

According to a monthly poll taken by Naeil Shinmoon, a daily evening newspaper, and Hanghil Research, a polling company, Lee now holds an approval rating of 7.4 percent. (That’s the combined percentage of very good and good. The other three options were: so-so, poor and very poor). No, it’s not a typo. Lee managed to achieve a single digit approval rating in four months after taking office. I’m willing to bet it’s a record in the history of presidential approval ratings the world over.

Some other numbers worth noting: 88% of respondents have said that renegotiation over U.S. beef imports is necessary. And 71.5% of Korean citizenry think positively about candlelight vigils and rallies.

A pile of trash dumped in front of the publisher of a trash daily newspaper.

Chosun Ilbo, one of the big three newspapers in Korea along with Joong-ang Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo, collectively known as “Cho-Joong-Dong” for their right-wing propagandist, distorted reports, is widely derided as a “trash” daily and has been an object of protest since candlelight vigils started on May 2. But last night the protesters came up with an ingenious way of showing their contempt for the trash daily:

[Breaking news] McDonald’s rebuts Yim.

McDonalds Korea has just announced on their home page the following:

According to what we have confirmed through an official channel of McDonald’s America, hamburger patties sold in the U.S. are made following Mcdonald’s global standards from the beef from American cows younger than 30 months, and are made from 100% pure beef as in all Mcdonald’s including McDonald’s Korea. We also confirmed yet again that internal organs are not included in hamburger patties.

McDonald’s is dragged into the debate.

Last night on “100 Minute Debate“, a popular TV program hosted by the Korean broadcasting company MBC, one of the panel made a controversial claim to the effect that McDonald’s and other American fast food companies use the beef from cows older than 30 months to make hamburger patties, contrary to the official position of McDonald’s.

Below is my translation of what Yim Hun-joh, a member of the pro-Lee Myung-bak New Right Association, said:

About 18% of all beef consumed in the U.S. are from cows older than 30 months. Most of it is used to make hamburger patties by McDonald’s and others. When you drive along the highways and go into resting places in the U.S., most of them are hamburger shops, whether they are McDonald’s or something else. And a hundred of thousands of Korean students are studying in the U.S. Studying abroad, they don’t have enough money and so eat hamburgers often. And Americans too eat hamburgers often. The very hamburgers are made from the beef from cows older than 30 months and also contain their internal organs.

Assuming that McDonald’s will surely rebut Yim’s careless remark, many Koreans are welcoming it as an opportunity to publicize that the Korean government is misleading the public by insisting that the beef that will be imported from the U.S. is the same as what Americans eat.

“The South Korean government must protect its citizens”.

Amnesty International Korea has issued a statement on the South Korean government’s current human rights violations in Korea. Here’s my translation followed by the original:

[Statement] The South Korean government must protect its citizens.
[June 1, 2008]

The police are threatening the citizens by arresting 227 people in a single night and quelling the street rallies. The violent quelling of peaceful protests on May 31 and June 1 is a serious violation of freedom of assembly and rallies and freedom of speech.

Many cases and pleas from people show the urgency of the current situation. And it is absolutely inexcusable to use water cannons and to attack unarmed protesters with police shields.

As a response to the current situation, Amnesty International will gather cases and investigate them. It will make the international community aware of the current situation in Korea, and to that end, carry out every possible campaign in collaboration with human rights organizations in Korea. Cases are already being gathered, and the world soon will become aware of the situation and respond.

Amnesty International demands the following for the South Korean government:

-The South Korean government must immediately stop quelling with violent force.
-The South Korean government must immediately release everyone who was arrested during peaceful rallies.
-The South Korean government must investigate the matter and in particular take appropriate measures against the police who used unnecessary force, using relevant global standards, namely the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
-The South Korean government must promptly assist every casualty including the injured.
-The South Korean government must guarantee the rights of peaceful assembly and rallies.

The South Korean government needs to remember what happened to those governments which failed to protect the basic rights of their citizens. “Once people have stood up with boiling rage, they won’t remain silent. The leaders who don’t listen to them will inevitably face crises.”

[성명서] 대한민국 정부는 국민들을 보호하라.
[2008-06-01]

경찰은 하룻밤 사이 227명을 연행하고 거리에 나선 시민들을 폭력적으로 진압하면서 국민들을 위협하고 있다. 5월31일부터 6월1일까지의 평화시위에 대한 폭력적 진압은 집회와 시위, 표현의 자유에 대한 국민의 권리에 대한 심각한 침해이다.

여러 사례들과 탄원들은 현재의 상황이 매우 위급함을 보여준다. 또한 물대포를 발사하고 방패를 세워 무장하지 않은 시민들을 공격하는 등의 행동은 어떠한 이유로도 인정될 수 없는 것이다.

국제앰네스티는 현상황에 대응하기 위해 사례취합 및 조사를 진행하고 이 상황을 국제사회에 알리고 한국의 인권단체들과 협조하여 가능한 모든 캠페인을 전개해 나갈 것이다. 이미 사례에 대한 취합은 시작되었고 세계는 곧 이 상황을 알고 반응하게 될 것이다.

국제앰네스티는 한국정부에 다음을 요구한다.
-한국정부는 폭력적 진압을 즉각 중단하라
-한국정부는 평화적 시위에도 구속된 모든 연행자를 즉각 석방하라.
-한국정부는 이 사건에 대한 진상을 규명하고 특히 지나친 공권력을 사용한 경찰에 법집행관들에 대한 글로벌 기준인, 법집행관의 유엔 윤리강령(UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials)에 따른 대책을 세워라.
-한국정부는 부상자를 포함한 모든 피해자에 대한 구제를 신속히 실시하라.
-한국정부는 평화적 집회와 시위의 권리를 보장하라.

대한민국 정부는 국민의 기본적인 권리를 보호하지 못하여 세계 곳곳에서 일어났던 사건들을 상기시킬 필요가 있다. “들끓는 분노로 일어선 이상, 사람들은 결코 침묵하지 않을 것이다. 이에 귀 기울이지 않는 지도자들은 분명 위기를 맞게 될 것이다.”

2008. 6. 1.
국제앰네스티 한국지부

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses worry over the South Korean government’s massive arrest of protesters.

Many protesters have been arrested since last Saturday, May 24. Some of them were physically abused by the police. Over a hundred protesters—112, to be exact—were arrested last night alone (many of them voluntarily submitted themselves to arrest as a way of protesting against the police’s use of violence during arrest).

Below is a statement issued by AHRC. (The original statement by AHRC can be found here.)

SOUTH KOREA: Massive arrest of protesters is imminent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-146-2008
May 26, 2008

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

SOUTH KOREA: Massive arrest of protesters is imminent

Since the government of South Korea agreed with the United States of America to import beef on April 17, the people of the South Korea have expressed their deep concerns about the agreement due to the reports of bovine spongiform encephalitis (mad cow disease) having been found in the U.S. The failure of both governments to give reassurances on the condition of the beef has done nothing to assuage the people’s fears. Mad cow disease is a deadly disease for which there is no known cure. It may lay dormant in the infected person for years before symptoms are revealed or felt.

In the hope that the government will accept the people’s demands, tens of thousands of people, composing of family members including school students, have voluntarily come before the Cheonggyechoen (Cheonggye stream), Seoul, in a candlelight vigil, asking the government to renegotiate the agreement and stop importing beef from the U.S. until the people of South Korea are assured that it is free of the disease. The people have held candlelight vigils, not only in the capital Seoul, but also in major cities across the country for the last 17 days.

Students from middle schools and high schools have been reportedly prohibited from taking part in the vigils and several teachers were dispatched in order to identify their students wearing school uniform. It is also reported that school principals have publicly announced suspensions of students and announced the prohibition of other students from taking part. The students submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea regarding the restriction of freedom of expression and assembly.

Due to pressure from the people, including students, the government has postponed the public announcement, which will be effective immediately once it is made. However, it is reported that it will be announced either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, (May 27 or 28). Being frustrated, some of protesters started to march on the street, which is illegal under the domestic law called the Act on Assembly and Protest after the candle light vigil on May 24. In response the riot police used their police shields to attack the peaceful marchers at 4am, May 25. It is reported that at about 68 protesters have so far been arrested and several were injured at the time. It is also reported that in Cheonbuk province, Mr. Lee Byung-Ryeol set fire to himself, shouting against the agreement on May 25 and his condition is currently serious. In the meantime, the Minister of Justice Mr. Kim Kyung-han has already proclaimed that the police will arrest protesters at any future demonstration.

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of the South Korea to release the arrestees without condition and guarantee the right of peaceful assembly of the people which is enshrined in the Korean Constitution as well as International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the South Korea is a state party. It also urges that the government must ensure the safety and freedom of the people who take part in the candlelight vigil that is to be held tonight and in the future, and that it must guarantee the right of peaceful assembly in such a way as to protect protesters. Finally the AHRC calls upon the government to amend the Act on Assembly and Protest in compliance with the Constitution as well as international standards.

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Posted on 2008-05-26

According to the Korean Act on Assembly and Protest, not only marching peacefully on the roads but also shouting slogans on the streets are illegal. This clearly violates the International Covenant mentioned above and the spirit of the Korean Constitution, as AHRC says.

What a shame that our government is condemned as violating the most basic civil rights.