Mr Baek, a 68-year-old political activist, had been in a coma since November 2015 when he was struck by a government-controlled water cannon during a largely peaceful protest against President Park Geun-hye’s agriculture policies. He passed away on the 25th September 2016 due to kidney failure, unaware that his defiance has become a symbol for the dilapidation of Korean citizens freedom of assembly and growing number of incidents involving police brutality.
As we came up the staircase from Gwanghwamun station we were met with a small army of police officers and a grand stage erected in the middle of a closed six-lane road, complete with speakers lining the 400 meter stretch from the statute of Sejong the Great to Saemunan-ro. The funeral of Baek Nam-gi was beginning.
The passing of a national icon was at the forefront of the days proceedings, however the pressing backdrop was recent allegations against President Park.
Choi-gate
The South Korean President Park has been in her job since early 2013. During this time she has been able to maintain support of the public despite criticism from many inside and outside the Government. However recent news of her relationship with Choi Soon-sil, and its trappings, has united South Korea against her and sent her public support to an all time low for an acting President in the country.
Choi Soon-sil is the daughter of the deceased Church of Eternal life (a cult) leader, Choi Tae-min. She formed a relationship with Park, before her Presidency, during the aftermath of her father’s death. During this time of tragedy Choi became a close friend and confidant to Park. However, in October 2016 it was reported that she had been invited into the President’s inner circle and given access to the Government’s confidential information. Choi had edited political speeches, influenced government policy, decided what Park should wear and, with the help of senior officials in Park’s government, extorted obscene amounts of money from large Korean corporations. It has also been reported that she used the proceeds to fund her daughter’s dressage efforts in Germany and rig a university’s administrative process to ensure her daughter would have a place as a student. For the icing on this extravagant tale-cake President Park has accepted full responsibility for the scandal and invited an investigation into the allegations.
Many questions have been raised about the Presidents links to the cult and how this high degree of corruption has been allowed to take place. Needless to say the people of Korea are pissed.
Funeral fit for a king
The turnout for the state-like funeral and subsequent political rally has been estimated as well over 50,000; it felt like the whole of Korea was turned out to have their say, alongside the entire police force of the city. Tens of thousands strong in number, the police’s presence was throughout the Gwanghwamun Square and the surrounding areas. They were patrolling every street and every bus and subway stop, ready to step in if things got out of hand. Reinforcements camped out in the back streets alongside a never-ending row of police buses and riot shields. During the early hours of the afternoon this felt like over kill. But judging from the pictures on social media of thousands taking part in roaming protests over the city tonight, I think they could’ve done with a little more help.
Despite the overwhelming police presence, the afternoon atmosphere was peaceful and one of almost embarrassment that their leader could betray the nation’s trust. However, there were shades of anger and frustration surrounding the sinking of the MV Sewol ferry in April 2014. A ferry travelling from Incheon to Jeju capsized with 476 people on board, mostly high school students. 304 people died that day, along with the high profile suicide of a school head master.
This weighed heavy on top of the Choi Soon-sil frustration, who coincidentally is also alleged to have used her friendship with Park to indict a Japanese journalist for reporting that Park and Choi had a secret meeting in the wake of the incident. The issue arose due to the perceived lack of regulatory enforcement over the ferry operators and the response from the government, which ranged from an indirect apology from President Park to a quasi government broadcaster comparing the relatively low number of deaths from the incident to those of road traffic accidents. The insensitivity to the victims and the lack of government enforcement over shipping in South Korea prompted many to rally together and press for further efforts to locate the nine people still missing and ensure this does not happen again.
—The yellow ribbon has evolved over use in social media to become a symbol of remembrance for the victims and their families but also rebellion against the government—
As clear outsiders, Koreans would approach us in order to ensure we were up to speed with the current events. The passion in their voices, whilst laying out the scene, was typical of the day as different areas of the square were occupied by protestors, some of whom had been there for a week – camping out in the streets to show their displeasure with the events surrounding their leader. The people, young and old, were united and preaching from the same sheet.
As the day gave way to the night and the numbers swelled in the Square, we left to avoid any trouble between protestors and the police. On the train back home I was left thinking how easy it is to distance oneself from the seedy back door scene of politics. However, if it wasn’t for people who are engaged and willing to spend their time and energy in support of justice and transparency imposed on those who make decisions for us, it could be a lot harder for people like me to live wilfully ignorant of the corruption and lies around those charged with acting in the people’s best interests.
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