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A farmer named Baek Nam-ki was blasted by water cannons containing tear gas during a protest in front of the Jongno District Office in Seoul on Nov. 14

A court has acquitted former Seoul police commissioner Ku Eun-su of charges connected with the death of a farmer named Baek Nam-ki at a demonstration in 2015. The police officers who blasted a water cannon directly at Baek were found guilty.

On June 5, Hon. Kim Sang-dong, a judge in the 24th criminal division at the Seoul Central District Court, found Ku not guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence on the job.

“Considering the structure of the control center and the radio communication, Ku could not have been specifically aware of how the water cannon was blasted at the place in question. Given the commotion during the demonstration, Ku could not have focused entirely on the issue [of Baek Nam-ki]. We do not find that Ku was negligent in terms of his command and oversight duties,” Kim ruled.

The court also took into consideration the fact that Ku had emphasized the risks associated with the use of water cannon cars during a security measures meeting prior to the demonstration and urged commanders on the ground to take safety precautions.

An individual surnamed Han, a water cannon operator with the 1st riot police unit with the South Chungcheong Police Agency who blasted the water cannon directly at Baek Nam-ki, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, while an individual surnamed Choe was fined 7 million won (US$6,552). Shin Yun-gyun, who had been Han and Choe’s immediate superior on the scene, was fined 10 million won (US$9,360). Shin was commander of the 4th riot police company at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at the time and currently serves as the head of the traffic control team at the same agency.

The verdict discussed the two water cannon operators as follows: “At the time they fired the water cannon, the situation was not so critical that they could not have concentrated on keeping the protesters safe. For example, there were no protesters pulling on ropes in the area other than the victim.”

“Despite those circumstances, the defendants blasted the water cannon at the victim’s upper body and kept blasting pressurized water at the victim, who was standing 18m from the water cannon car. As a result, the victim lost balance and fell to the ground, smacking the back of his head on the asphalt,” the court found.

The court said that Shin Yun-gyun, as head of the riot police team and “the responsible officer on the scene, had the duty of halting water cannon operators who engaged in excessive blasting when operating equipment as hazardous as a water cannon car and the duty of ordering a rescue in the event of an injury, but he was remiss in these duties.”

The court did not accept the defendants’ argument that there was an inadequate causal relationship between the blasting of the water cannon and Baek’s death. The court also cited testimony by Baek Seon-ha, a neurosurgeon at Seoul National University Hospital, during the investigation to the effect that the victim had not suffered brain damage because of his previous medical history.

“The death certificate [by Baek Seon-ha listing illness as the cause of death] does not have high evidentiary value given the testimony provided by the Korean Medical Association and a professor of forensic medicine,” the court found.

The court also dismissed the credibility of the “red raincoat impact theory.” “In light of footage taken at the time and the inquest findings, we do not find that the victim was hit hard enough when the person in the red raincoat fell on top of him as to inflict major head trauma,” the court said.

The prosecutors released a statement declaring their intent to appeal the decision. “While at the control center, Ku was aware of the situation on the ground at the protest and gave Shin detailed and focused orders over the wireless radio to fire the water cannons and urged him to carry out those orders. Despite this, the court fell for the superficial argument that Ku should not be found guilty of negligence because his absence from the scene of the demonstration prevented him from having a detailed understanding of the situation on the ground. Therefore, we find the court’s acquittal of Ku unacceptable,” the prosecutors said.

By Ko Han-sol, staff reporter

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