[Editorial] Investigate Death of Jeon Yong Cheol

Farmers' groups and the police are arguing over what exactly killed 43 year-old Jeon Yong Cheol, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage two days after participating in a protest of government agriculture policy. The tentative conclusion after an autopsy is that he fell, and that caused skill fracture and cerebral hemorrhage. His family and fellow farmers claim he was hit by riot police, but the police are denying that the possibility he died from being beaten.

No proof evidence has surfaced proving that he died because of excessive police force. However, a lot of people were injured this month at protests opposing the ratification of the rice agreement. Farmers' groups claim that ten people were seriously injured, including people who were hit with police shields and suffered hemorrhages or vertebrae injuries. That being the case, what has to come first is a thorough inquiry into whether Jeon really did get physically beaten, based on analysis of video footage of the scene. The police only make the suspicions worse when they try to stop the funeral parade from coming to Seoul or tell the press baseless versions of what happened, such as that he died after falling in his own home. We have no intention of defending violent protests. From the police's position, there are aspects of the situation that make physical confrontation unavoidable. However, you cannot justify striking protesters' heads with the ends of riot police shields by saying that violent protests lead to excessive force.

Farmers are feeling a great sense of worry and desperation now that the National Assembly has ratified the agreement. This month alone, three men have taken their own lives while opposing ratification and there's no way to contain one's sorrow. It would have to be serious for Democratic Labor (DLP) member of the National Assembly Kang Ki Kap, who himself went on a hunger strike, to tell protesters they should "live on to defend the agriculture industry." We hope that farmers' groups, too, will approach the matter in a calm and cool-headed fashion.

The Hankyoreh, 26 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]