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Baek Minjuhwa

Baek Minjuhwa, 30, the daughter of Baek Nam-gi, 69, a South Korean farmer who is in a coma after being knocked out by a blast from a police water cannon, attended a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council and told the international community how the South Korean government has been violently suppressing assemblies and demonstrations.

Baek Minjuhwa attended the 32nd session of the UNHRC, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 17. During the session, the first remarks were made by Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, followed by South Korean government officials, South Korea’s National Human Rights Commission and civic groups. Baek stood up to speak on behalf of civic groups at 1:30 pm, after South Korean government officials finished their remarks.

After introducing herself as “the daughter of 69-year-old farmer Baek Nam-gi,” Baek said, “The government is arbitrarily banning demonstrations, which it defines not as assemblies but as crimes.”

“The government asked that Korean Confederation of Trade Unions President Han Sang-gyun be sentenced to eight years in prison for organizing a demonstration. It has arrested or sent subpoenas to more than 500 demonstrators. The police deployed hundreds of buses and thousands of officers to block major roads even before the demonstration had begun, and they shot the demonstrators with water cannons that were mixed with capsaicin and other harmful substances,” Baek said.

Baek next addressed the police’s use of water cannons against her father, slamming investigators with the prosecution for allowing more than half a year to slip by since Baek Nam-gi was knocked out without accomplishing anything. “There has been no apology, no official investigation and no justice,” she said.

“The South Korean government claims that it is in the middle of a thorough investigation. But for seven months, the only person they have called in for questioning is my older sister, and I’m the one who filed the complaint,” Baek said.

“If one person strikes another, it is only natural for them to apologize and to do whatever it takes to redress that wrong. That’s what all humans do,” she said.

After completing her two-minute statement, Baek said, “If you will give me just five seconds, I would like to give my father an opportunity to speak.” For five seconds, she held up a picture of her father being blasted by a water cannon.

In Baek’s testimony on Friday, she refuted each and every one of the claims made by South Korean diplomats.

In a 21-page report also released on Friday, UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai expressed his strong concerns about the methods used by the South Korean government to put down demonstrations, including vehicle barricades and water cannons. Kiai wrote his report after visiting South Korea in January to investigate how well the country is guaranteeing the freedoms of assembly and association.

The South Korean government issued its own seven-page report on Friday to rebut the UN report. After every remark made by Kiai, the South Korean government was also given an opportunity to respond.

“The South Korean government has made every effort to ensure that its laws conform to international human rights standards,” said Yoo Dae-jong, director-general of the International Organizations Bureau at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “According to the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur, we revised the Assembly and Demonstration Act this February to allow two or more demonstrations to be held at the same location.”

“When violence occurred [at demonstrations] in 2015, the police only used four water cannons according to strict guidelines. The prosecutors are conducting a thorough investigation into what happened to Baek Nam-gi. We do not take issue with legal participants,” Yoo said.

By Ko Han-sol, staff reporter

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