Tag: protesters

20,000 Koreans Protest Acquittal of Former Governor on Sexual Assault Charges

Like I had previously said, An may have gotten off criminally, but his career is over politically considering 20,000 people were motivated to come out and protest like this:

A protestor holds up a sign of a handcuffed An with the words “guilty” scribbled across his forehead. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won

Around 20,000 people rallied in downtown Seoul, Saturday, to protest a court’s recent decision to acquit former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung of sexually assaulting and harassing his former secretary.

The public anger over the ruling in favor of the fallen political star in a high-profile #MeToo case signals a critical juncture in the months-long movement. The protest organizer expected only up to 2,000 participants.

The crowd, mostly dressed in black and of varying age groups, chanted slogans such as “A judiciary that protects sex offenders is an accomplice,” while holding placards stating, “No country for women” and “We, the survivors, are all Kim Ji-eun” (the alleged victim in An’s case). [Korea Times]

Here is some interesting facts about the case:

When Kim Ji-eun disclosed the sexual offenses by An in March, he first admitted to the crime on Facebook saying, “My office’s statement it was a consensual sexual relationship was wrong. This is all my fault.” However, he changed his statement after an investigation started, saying they had consensual sex.

The Seoul Western District Court ruled last Tuesday there was “insufficient evidence” that the accused used his position of authority to coerce the victim into having unwanted sex, saying the incident did not involve “the degree of physical force that makes it impossible for the victim to resist.”  (…….)

In a letter read out to the protesters through her lawyer, Kim Ji-eun also reiterated this point.

“Do I have to kill myself to be recognized as a true #MeToo victim?” Kim’s letter read. “I was physically and sexually assaulted by An that day; I did everything in my power to show I did not want it to happen; I could not run away because I knew that I would be fired.”

Kim also denounced the court proceedings for not questioning An’s testimony.

“Dear judges: Did you ask An why he said sorry to me; why he first wrote on Facebook it was not a consensual relationship; and why he destroyed his phone before the prosecutors got to him? Why did you not question the perpetrator?” Kim said in the letter.

The protesters also said they were frustrated at the court’s failure to recognize the sexual intercourse between the employer and the employee as a rape only because there was no physical coercion or verbal threats.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Picture of the Day: Activists Protest Former Governor’s Rape Acquittal

Against Ex-Gov. An Hee-jung's acquittal for sexual abuse

Activists stage a rally in front of a court in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, 200 kilometers south of Seoul, on Aug. 16, 2018, denouncing a Seoul court ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung not guilty of sexually abusing his former secretary Kim Ji-eun. The 54-year-old politician was indicted in April on charges of forcing Kim to have sex with him four times and molesting her multiple times between the middle of last year and early this year in Seoul and while on overseas business trips. The Seoul court said that there was not sufficient evidence to prove An used his position to have sexual relations with the plaintiff. (Yonhap)

Korean Women Conduct Topless Protest Against Facebook Policies

I don’t think these protesters are going to find too many objections from men in regards to their demands towards Facebook:

A group of female protesters went topless in a rally against Facebook, Saturday, protesting its “discrimination,” based on a policy that bans posts showing women’s breasts but allows men’s naked torsos. Ten women wearing masks and sunglasses carried signs that read, “Why do you delete posts in which I willingly showed my breasts?” and “Set me free from what is virtually a modern corset,” near company headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul.

Soon after photographers and police arrived, the protesters lined up and took off their T-shirts to show a Korean character drawn on their chests to deliver the message “My body is not pornographic material.”

Police forcibly covered the women with blankets despite fierce protests, with some women shouting, “Why are police officers covering us? Why do they keep suppressing us?”

The highly “liberal” move came about a week after Facebook unilaterally deleted an account that posted a message with a photo of a topless woman, slapping the account holder with a one-month suspension. Facebook said the post violated company policy on uploading photos containing naked body parts and sexual acts. “Facebook is used by all age groups, which is why we need to create an environment where a majority of people feel safe,” the company was quoted as saying. “We understand the women’s group and where they are coming from. We must delete the topless photos for now.”  [Korea Times]

You can read and see more pictures at the link, but this is actually not the first time there has been a topless protest in Seoul.

Picture of the Day: Anti-US Rally Outside of US Embassy Over Summit Cancellation

Anti-U.S. rally over U.S.-N. Korean summit cancellation

A protester holds a banner that says, “Trump jeopardizes peace on the Korean Peninsula,” during a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on May 25, 2018, to criticize the U.S. government and call for a summit with North Korea as scheduled. On May 24, U.S. President Donald Trump called off his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for June 12, citing the North’s “tremendous anger and open hostility.” (Yonhap)

Korean Police Remove Protesters and Open Road to THAAD Site In Seongju

Looked what quietly happened over the weekend:

Riot police break up a sit-in by anti-THAAD protesters in Seongju, some 215 km southeast of Seoul, on April 23, 2018. (Yonhap)

Construction vehicles made it into the base of the United States THAAD anti-missile system in southeastern South Korea on Monday after riot police removed protesters blocking the road to oppose THAAD’s deployment.

Twenty-two vehicles carrying construction materials, equipment and workers entered the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, from around 11:20 a.m. as part of a project to build facilities for troops manning the unit.

Their entrance came about three hours after riot police began removing about 200 residents and activists occupying the Jinbat bridge in a sit-in aimed at preventing the vehicles’ passage. About 3,000 riot police were mobilized to break up the protest.

Scuffles and shoving matches broke out as police moved in. Protesters resisted by inserting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to tie themselves together to make it difficult for police to carry them away. They also chanted slogans, such as “Out with violent police.”

About 10 people were injured during the clash, with five or six of them taken to a hospital.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but it appears from the article that it was pretty easy for the police to open the road.  I wonder if the anti-US leftist groups did not send their manpower down to Seongju to put up a fight with the police because of this week’s Kim-Moon summit?

Protesters resist police by putting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to tie themselves together during a sit-in in Seongju, some 300 km southeast of Seoul, on April 23, 2018. (Yonhap)

Protesters resist police by putting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to tie themselves together during a sit-in in Seongju, some 300 km southeast of Seoul, on April 23, 2018. (Yonhap)

Korean Man is Last Person Standing in Seoul Neighborhood Set to Be Demolished

Pretty interesting profile below from Yonhap about a man in Seoul fighting to keep his home after his neighborhood was selected for redevelopment:

Cho Han-jeong’s two story house is the only one in Jangwi-dong’s seventh zone still inhabited. (Yonhap)

In the morning of Jan. 20, 2009, six people — five protesters and one police officer — were killed in a blaze atop a gutted building in Yongsan, central Seoul. The five civilian victims were protesting against a forceful eviction by the authorities for a mega urban renewal project.

Nine years has passed. And one man has risked his life for a similar reason: to protect the house that he built in 1986 in Jangwi-dong, northern Seoul. On November 7, he stabbed himself in the abdomen when officials came to forcibly remove him and his wife from the two-story brick house.  (…….)

The redevelopment project divided Jangwi-dong into 15 zones and Cho’s house belongs to the seventh zone. On March 20, 2009, the zone’s redevelopment union was established after 76.61 percent — slightly over the minimum requirement of 75 percent — of the land owners approved the plan. Those opposed had to sell the house according to real estate values determined by certified public appraisers.

In Cho’s case, along with those of many others, the value failed to properly reflect market prices. Having injured his back while serving in the military, he doesn’t have a regular income. His family lives on the rent from the tenants of four small shops on the first floor and one in the basement.

With the cash compensation, it is impossible to find a house that can provide him with similar monthly income, as the redevelopment project has pushed up real estate prices in nearby areas.  [Yonhap]

You can read much more at the link, but Mr. Cho’s house now has become a hardened fortress complete with activists protecting it to stop people from trying to evict him.