Continued judicial harassment of four defenders working on the Sewol Ferry Disaster
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORYKOR001 / 0715 / OBS 060.1
Judicialharassment
South Korea
January 18, 2016
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a jointprogramme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in South Korea.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about thecontinued judicial harassment of Mr. Lae-Goon Park, a standing steeringcommittee member of the Coalition 4.16 on the Sewol Ferry Disaster[1](Coalition 4.16), as well as Ms. Hye-Jin Kim, a staff member of the Coalition 4.16, and Messrs. Hyung-JaeHam and Hyun-Sik Kim, two staff members from the People'sCommittee for the Sewol Tragedy.
According to the information received, on January 22,2016, the SeoulCentral District Court will announce a verdict against Mr. Park and Ms. Kim,who face five years and three years in prison respectively for charges relatedto their participation in a series of protests in 2014 and 2015 related to theSewol Ferry incident (see background information). On December 15, 2015 theSeoul Prosecutor's Office had requested the Court to sentence Mr. Park and Ms.Kim to these prison sentences. Mr. Park and Ms. Kim's lawyers are planning tosubmit defence arguments and additional views before the January 22 hearing.
Mr. Park and Ms. Kim are both facing chargesunder Article 6 (“organizing illegal rallies”) and Article 20 (“refusal to bedispersed”) of the Assembly and Demonstration Act and Article 185 (“generalobstruction of traffic”) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Park is facing the followingadditional charges: Article 141 (“invalidity of public documents” and“destruction of public goods”), Article 144 (“special obstruction of publicduty”) and Article 307 (“defamation”) of the Criminal Code.
In addition, six other people who participated in Sewol protests inApril and May 2015, including Messrs. Hyung-JaeHam and Hyun-Sik Kim(twostaff members from the People's Committee for the Sewol Tragedy) weredetained for alleged acts of violence during the protests and then released.[2]On July 14, 2015, the Seoul Prosecutor's office indicted Messrs. Ham and Kimunder Article 185 of the Criminal Code, for which they faced three years inprison. On August 11, 2015, a lower court sentenced Messrs. Ham and Kimrespectively to eight months in prison with two years of probation and sixmonths in prison with one year of probation respectively. Both Messrs. Kim andHam appealed their sentences; the first appeal hearing was held on December 17,2015. The final decision of the Appeal Court is expected to be announced onJanuary 28, 2016.
The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over thecontinued judicial harassment against Messrs. Park, Ham, Kim and Ms. Kim, andcalls on the South Korean authorities to drop all charges against them and putan end to all acts of judicial harassment against them and other human rightsdefenders in South Korea.
The Observatory is concerned by the ongoing attemptsby the South Korean authorities to curtail freedom of association, assembly,and expression, which seem to be aimed at undermining the legitimate activitiesof human rights defenders. The Observatory recalls that the South Koreanauthorities have the responsibility to ensure the protection of human rights ingeneral and of rights related to freedoms of expression, assembly andassociation in particular.
Background information:
After the Sewol ferry disaster on April 16, 2014, families of victimsand civil society organizations have continuously urged the Government to setup an independent investigatory commission to reveal the truth regarding theSewol ferry disaster. The People’s Committee for the Sewol Ferry Tragedy,together with Sewol victims' families, collected more than 3.5 millionindividual signatures calling for the enactment of a law to establish anindependent and transparent investigation commission on the Sewol ferry disasterand submitted these signatures to the National Assembly on July 15, 2014.
After the submission, some victims' families, individual citizens, andhuman rights defenders including Mr. Lae-goon Park, went on hunger strike,demonstrated overnight in the street, and shaved their heads in protest callingfor enactment of a Special Law on Sewol. The Special Law for Seeking Truth ofthe Sewol Ferry Disaster and Establishing Safer Society (Sewol Special Law) wasfinally enacted on November 7, 2014.
However, on March 27, 2015, the government announced an enforcementordinance for the Sewol Special Law which human rights defenders say runscounter to the provisions of the law and risks denying the rights of victimsand families to truth. The members of Coalition 4.16 therefore organiseda series of protests to call for the abolishment of the enforcement decree andto commemorate Sewol victims and call for a truly independent and transparentinvestigation into the tragedy. During these protests in April and May 2015,physical clashes between protesters and police occurred and violence broke out.
On July 17, 2015, Mr. Park was detained by the Seoul Metropolitan Policein connection to his participation in a series of protests in 2014 and 2015related to the the Sewol Ferry incident.[3]Police agents claimed that Mr. Park incited sedition during these protests andcolluded with other human rights defenders to take violent action against thepolice. According to Coalition 4.16, no conclusive evidence has been providedfor Mr. Park’s involvement in inciting violent acts during the protests. To thecontrary, Coalition 4.16 has stated that Mr. Park tried to calm participantsduring the protests and asked them not to use any violence against authorities.On November 2, 2015, Mr. Park was released on bail.
Actions requested:
The Observatory urges the authorities of South Korea to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity ofMessrs. Lae-Goon Park, Hyung-Jae Ham, Hyun-Sik Kim and Ms. Hye-Jin Kim and allpeaceful protesters as well as all human rights defenders in South Korea;
ii. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at thejudicial level, against Messrs. Lae-Goon Park, Hyung-Jae Ham, Hyun-Sik Kim andMs. Hye-Jin Kim and all peaceful protesters as well as all human rightsdefenders in South-Korea;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration onHuman Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United NationsGeneral Assembly, in particular:
· itsArticle 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or inassociation with others, to promote the protection and realization of humanrights and fundamental freedoms at the national and internationallevels” ;
· itsArticle 5 (a) which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in associationwith others to meet or assemble peacefully” ; and
· itsArticle 12 which states that “everyone has the right, individually and inassociation with others, to participate in peaceful activities againstviolations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The State shall take allnecessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities ofeveryone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure orany other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exerciseof the rights referred to in the present Declaration.”
vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international humanrights standards and international instruments ratified by South Korea.
Addresses:
· Mrs. Park Geun-hye, President of theRepublic of Korea, 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-820, Republic ofKorea, Fax: +82 2770 1690
· Mr. Hwang Kyo-ahn, Prime Minister of theRepublic of Korea, 77-6 Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Fax: +82-2-720-35 71
· Mr. Kim Hyun-Woong, Minister of Justice,Government Complex-Gwacheon, Jungang-dong1, Gwacheon-si, Kyunggi-do, Tel:02-2110-3178, Fax: 02-503-7118
· Mr. Yun Byung-se, Minister of ForeignAffairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 60, Sajik-ro 8-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul,Republic of Korea (110-787) Tel: +82-2-2100-2114, Fax: +82-2-2100-7999
· National Human Rights Commission of Korea,Gumsegi Building, No. 16, Ulgiro 1-ga, Jung-gu, 100-842 Seoul, Republic ofKorea. Tel: +82 2 2125 97 00; Fax: +82-2-2125-9718. E-mail:nhrc@humanrights.go.kr
· H.E. Choi Kyoung-lim, Permanent Mission ofthe Republic of Korea to the United Nations, 1 Avenue de l'Ariana, Case Postale42, 1211 Genève 20, Switzerland, Tel:(41-22) 748-0000, Fax: 748-0003. Email:geneva.korea@mofa.go.kr.
· H.E. Chong-ghee Ahn, Ambassador of theRepublic of Korea to the Kingdom of Belgium, Chaussée de la Hulpe 173-175, 1170Brussels(Watermael-Boitsfort), Belgium, Tel : + 32 (0)2 675 5777, Fax : + 32(0)2 675 5221/(0)2 662 2305
Please also write to diplomatic representationsof South Korea in your respective countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, January 18, 2015
Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.
TheObservatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of HumanRights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 143 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0)22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] After the Sewolferry tragedy, South Korean civil society organizations established a networkof more than 800 NGOs called the “People’s Committee for the Sewol FerryTragedy.” This Committee supported the Sewol victims’ families in their pursuitof the truth regarding the Sewol ferry tragedy. After the Special Law forSeeking Truth of the Sewol Ferry Disaster and Establishing Safer Societywas enacted at the end of 2014, the Committee was transformed into the “Coalition4.16 on the Sewol Ferry Disaster” (Coalition 4.16), which also includes themembership of the Sewol families and individual supporters. The Coalition 4.16has three standing steering committee members, one from each of these groups,and Mr. Park is one of them. Since then, most activities, including protests,have been organized under the Coalition 4.16’s name to show that families,civil society organisations, and individual supporters are jointly workingtowards truth regarding the Sewol ferry incident.
[2] The four otherprotesters are Mr. Chang-Gun Kim, Mr. Jang-Hee Kwon, Mr. Kwang-Chul Kang andMr. Gi-Ho Lee. The four deny having engaged in violence during the protests.
[3] The protests forwhich Mr. Park was being detained were held on July 24, 2014, to commemoratethe 100 days since the Sewol ferry tragedy; on April 11, 2015, to call for theraising of the Sewol ferry; on April 16, 2015, to commemorate the one yearanniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy; on April 18, 2015, to call for truthregarding the Sewol ferry tragedy; and on May 1 and 2, 2015, as an overnightprotest to call for truth-seeking in the Sewol ferry tragedy.