hankyoreh

Chief Editor of the Hankyoreh

By Kim Yang-joong, Medical Correspondent

The general view among medical professionals is that Unified Democratic Party standing adviser Kim Geun-tae passed away from the aftereffects of torture after years of suffering from Parkinson's disease.

The direct cause of death was cerebral venous thrombosis, with a clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain, leading to the death of brain tissue. However, medical professionals said the effects of torture were likely to have had a major impact on the condition's development.

Parkinson's disease patients suffer from rigidity and muscle tremors as brain cells are lost over a long period of time, with symptoms of slowed movement and posture difficulties.

"We aren't certain as to what causes Parkinson's disease, but Kim suffered electrical torture, which delivers a severe shock to the brain," said family medicine specialist and Anapa Hospital director Gang Yong-ju, who is active with the Truth Foundation, a group that aids torture victims.

"He may have come to suffer from Parkinson's disease, where brain tissue is gradually destroyed, as a result of this [torture]," Gang added.

Some experts said the danger of Parkinson's disease increases when a person is subjected to several shocks to the head while being tortured. The argument is that suffering such shocks through torture could cause as much damage to the brain as a boxer would suffer from being hit in the head with a gloved fist.

One South Korean case is that of Song Geon-ho, who was subjected to sever torture at the hands of the New Military in 1980. Before his death, Song suffered from Parkinson's disease, which some said could have been a result of the effects of torture.

Kim Hong-il, the oldest brother of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, and the poet Chun Sang-byung both developed Parkinson's disease after being subjected to severe torture as well. Former lawmaker Kim Tae-hong, who was tortured severely after exposing the New Military's press reporting directives in the mid-1980s, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which analysts said may also have been an aftereffect from his torture.

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