Individual Complaint-ROK-PSPD-18Apr2012

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Individual Complaint to: - the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders; - the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; and - the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

Name of Defender: Father Jeong-hyun MOON

Country: Republic of Korea Incident / Violation: Human rights defender is arrested and harassed by the police due to his actions related to protect environmental rights, right to peace, freedom of expression and opinion, and freedom of peaceful assembly. Date of Fact Sheet: 5 April 2012

A Essential Information B Useful information

1. Name of alleged victim/s Father Jeong-hyun MOON

Nationality: Republic of Korea Age: 72 Occupation: Catholic priest

2. Status of the victim as a human rights defender Father Jeong-hyun Moon is a prominent human rights defender who has worked for peace, environmental rights, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Father Moon was recently selected as the winner of 2012 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. Below is an extract from the Statement of 2012 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. “As a Catholic priest, referred to as a street father, during his whole life he has been always beside the isolated and the suppressed sharing their pains and inspiring hope. Through the life of Father Moon we are once again enlightened that democracy, human rights and peace are for and because of those who struggled for these things. We express our sincere concern to him, as he is currently hospitalized from falling in Gangjeong, Jeju.”

Jeju island is located at the southern part of the Republic of Korea. Jeju, the Island of Peace appointed by the Government, is experiencing harsh conflicts because the Ministry of Defence and the Navy of the Republic of Korea are enforcing the construction of a naval base at Gangjeong village without proper consultation with villagers. The naval base construction at Gangjeong is being pushed under the name of national project while human rights violence is frequently employed. People in Gangjeong village have been protesting for years against government’s violence and attempts to construct the naval base. Problems of constructing naval base in Gangjeong 1. Ongoing human rights violation against villagers, peace activist, and environmental defenders From 2010 to 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested for their participation in peaceful demonstrations against the naval base project. The arrestees include catholic priest, protestant pastor, human rights defenders from other countries like the UK and France as well as Korean human rights

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defenders, and most of all, villagers of Gangjeong. 2. No proper consultation with villagers In April 2007, only 87 out of 1,900 villagers participated in a town meeting that decided to host the naval base in Gangjeong village. The announcement was made only four days before the meeting was held. In August 2007, a referendum on the naval base proposal held in the Gangjeong village resulted in an overwhelming opposition by 94% of the villagers. Despite this, the government has continued with the project. This is indeed an affront to the rights of the people of Gangjeong village, particularly their right to take part in the decision-making process affecting their community. 3. Environmental damage The coast of Gangjeong village, where is right next to the naval base construction site, is classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The construction of a naval base will destroy the seashore, which is inhabited by a number of endangered marine species, bringing long-lasting negative impact to the environment and ecology.

3. Alleged violation/s committed against the victim Father Moon has been arrested around 5 times in total. 30 September 2011 Father Moon and two other catholic priests were holding a mass in front of the construction site. The police arrested them during the mess and kept them for 48 hours. 6 October 2011 Father Moon and seven other human rights defenders were protesting against the trial blast of navy and were arrested. All of them except one, Mr. Min-su Kim, were released on 7 October 2011.

In Korea, police can detain a person without detention warrant up to 48 hours.

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30 January 2012 Father Moon was arrested at the construction site under the charge of obstructing business and was released on 31 January. Together with other human rights defenders, Father Moon stopped the construction vehicle from entering Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site. 6 April 2012 Father Moon was conducting Way of Cross (Via Dolorasa) on the west seawall of Gangjung. While confronting police officers, Father Moon fell down from 7m high and had spine fractures. He is currently staying in a hospital. This accident happened because navy police unnecessarily oppressed peaceful human rights defenders. Police totally blocked all the roads towards Gangjeong port which is away from construction site by using bus, boats and police forces. The west seawall where Father Moon fell off is also not a construction site and therefore, there is no ground reason to block peaceful protesters’ movement. As a result, one individual sued Mr. In-tae Yeo, the chief police officer of Seogwipo Cost Guard and two police officers who confronted Father Moon, under the charge of accidental harm during official duties and abuse of their authority.

4. Alleged Perpetrators Ministry of Defense, Navy of the Republic of Korea, Prime Minister’s Office, The National Police Agency (Seogwipo Police Station and Seogwipo Cost Guard)

Witnesses A number of peace activists, human rights defenders, and villagers who were present during the arrest.

5. Action by authorities On 22 February 2012, President Myung-bak Lee mentioned during his 4-year inauguration speech that he would continue to push construction of Jeju naval base. On 23 February 2012, closed meeting among the relevant authorities was held by the Prime Minister’s Office. On 6 March 2012, the

Action taken by the victim or by human rights organizations One hundred and twenty four Korean organisations including peace organisations, environmental organisations, and religious organisations established a National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island. Since May 2011, the network has showed its

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Prime Minister’s Office made it clear that they cannot postpone the construction even though errors were found in the plan. The Office also emphasised that it will strictly prohibit people from holding “illegal” actions against the construction of navy base in Jeju. On 16 April 2012, the Seogwipo Police Station notified the Gangjeong Village Committee that it is not allowed to hold any demonstration from 15 April 2012 to 12 May 2012. The prohibited six areas are Gangjeong stream gym park, parking lot, in front of the Navy Base Construction Business Committee, in front of the construction site, Jungduk three-way intersection, and Gangjeong port. In addition to this, marching from Gangjeong stream gym park to Gangjeong port and Gangjeong meeting hall is also prohibited. This is almost all parts of Gangjeong that are related to navy base construction. The prohibition is based on Article 5 of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration. The police said that “people had sit-in protest in front of the construction site and it obstructs business”. The police blocked all possible demonstration in abovementioned areas including peaceful assembly and demonstration.

solidarity to Gangjeong villagers and raised problems of constructing naval base in Gangjeong village. The network is doing actions including provide legal aid, lobby to the parliament, hold press conference on human rights violation in Gangjeong, organized people to visit Gangjeong to show solidarity to villagers. PSPD is the secretariat of the network. Internationally, several NGOs and individuals sent solidarity message to villagers of Gangjeong, Jeju. These messages include below: - Statement of Support by the Right Livelihood Award Laureates for the Non-violent Struggle against the construction of the Korean/USA Naval Base in Gangjeong (27 March 2012) - Joint Open letter to President of South Korea on Construction of Naval Base and Arrest of Demonstrators in Jeju Island (FORUM-ASIA, FIDH, OMCT and 28 other Asian NGOs, 21 March 2012) - Statement of Gwangju Prize Laureates Against Navy Base on World Peace Island Jeju (16 March 2012) - Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), sent a solidarity message to Gangjeong villagers (30 September 2011) - International Statement in support of Gangjeong Village (Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 8 June 2011)

6. Link between the violation and human rights work Father Moon was arrested and harassed by the police because of his work as a peace activist and environmental defender. He has been defending villagers’ right to have a peaceful life and their environmental rights.

Previous incidents As of 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested and/or detained. For more details, please see the table in the Annex. Samsung C&T and Daerim, two construction companies claimed for damage against 10 villagers including Mr. Gang and they are now facing around 289,780,000KRW (around 255,000 USD). The case is still in process at the court. Below is major human rights violations happened in Gangjeong in the past:

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- 16 April 2012: Some human rights defenders connected their arms with PVC pipes and made a human wall to prevent a construction vehicle from entering the construction site. The police used electronic saw to cut that PVC pipes which had attached to human rights defenders arms. The police continued to use the saw to cut it even though human rights defenders were screaming out of fear. The saw was not strong enough to cut the PVC pipe but 14 protesters including one catholic priest were arrested during this struggle. - 15 March 2012: Mr. Benjamin Monnet, a French activist, while Ms. Angie Zelter, a peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the UK was asked to leave the country. Both of them were actively participated in the peace movement in Gangjeong. - 19 May 2011: Nine people including villagers and human rights defenders who were peacefully protesting were taken to police station. - 14 March 2012: Three Veterans For Peace members from the US who came to Korea to support peace movement in Jeju, Gangjeong was denied to enter the country at the airport without ground reason. - 30 September 2011: Three religious pastors were arrested while they were having a mass at the navy base construction site. They were arrested under the charge of interfering businesses. - 2 September 2011: Around 600 police officers entered Gangjeong village and arrested more than 35 people including catholic priests, nuns, human rights defenders and peace activists. - 24 August 2011: The police arrested and detained Mr. Dong-kyun Kang under the charge of interfering businesses. - 7 July 2011: The police applied for an injunction to 76 people including Mr. Dong-kyun Kang, under the charge of obstructing businesses.

7. Who is submitting this information? This letter is submitted by: Ms. HyunBach Chung Co-Representative

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People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) Tel. +82 2 723-7250, Fax: +82 2 6919 2004 Email: [email protected], www.peoplepower21.org

<Annex 1> List of Arrests in Gangjeong since January 2010 to April 2012 (as of 14 April 2012)

Date Reason of Arrest Number Location

Year 2010

18 January Violation of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration Obstruction of official work

53 Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site

27 December Violation of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration 34 Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site

Year 2011

19 May Obstruction of business 9 Jungduk Restaurant

15 July Arrest Warrant 5 Arrestees’ home

24 August Obstruction of business 3 Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site

1 September Arrest Warrant (Obstruction of business, Violation of the Public Waters Reclamation Act)

3 In front of Local Jeju Court

2 September Obstruction of business 35 Three-way intersection in Gangjeong

2 September Arrest Warrant (Obstruction of business) 3 Gangjeong Community Hall

30 September Obstruction of business 3 In front of the construction site

2 October Misdemeanour, violence charges 11 Inside Navy Base Construction Business Committee

2 October Misdemeanour 4 Gurumbi Rockbed

4 October Violation of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration 9 Gurumbi Rockbed

6 October Obstruction of business 8 Gurumbi Rockbed

6 October Obstruction of business 2 Construction site

14 October Suspicion of violence 1 Arrestee’s home

7 November Misdemeanour 5 Gurumbi Rockbed

8 November Obstruction of business 3 Shilla Hotel, Jeju

8 November Trespass 1 Parking lot of the Navy Base Construction Business

Committee Site

23 December Obstruction of business 1 In front of the construction site


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Year 2012

10 January Obstruction of business 29 In front of the construction site


26 January Obstruction of business 5 Seawall



3 February Misdemeanour 5 Gurumbi Rockbed

3 February Obstruction of business 3 In front of the construction site


9 February Obstruction of business 3 Matburi


18 February Violation of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration 14 Gurumbi Rockbed

21 February Violation of the Public Waters Reclamation Act 4 Gurumbi Rockbed


27 February Obstruction of business 5 Gangjeong port

6 March Obstruction of business 4 Storage of gunpowder that will be used to blast

Gurumbi Rockbed

7 March Obstruction of business, Obstruction of public transportation 19 Gangjeong stream

8 March Obstruction of business 2 Near Gurumbi Rockbed

9 March Obstruction of business, Property damage 20 Gurumbi Rockbed

10 March Obstruction of official work 1 Port

12 March Obstruction of business 16 Gurumbi Rockbed


Gurumbi Rockbed

21 March Property damage 4 Coast of Gurumbi Rockbed

23 March Obstruction of official work 2 Near Gangjeong port

26 March Obstruction of business 1 In front of the provincial government building

29 March Obstruction of business 1 Inside the village

31 March Obstruction of business, Obstruction of public transportation 9 Storage of gunpowder that will be used to blast

Gurumbi Rockbed

3 April Obstruction of business 5 Construction site

4 April Obstruction of business 1 In front of the construction site

7 April Obstruction of official work 1 Provincial Police Agency

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12 April Obstruction of business 5 Bubwhan Road

14 April Obstruction of official work, Property damage 11 Gangjeong Port

Total 442

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Name of Defender: Dr. Kang-ho SONG



1. Name of alleged victim/s Dr. Kang-ho SONG

Nationality: Republic of Korea Age: 53 Occupation: environmental defender, peace activist

2. Status of the victim as a human rights defender Dr. Song is a prominent human rights defender as well as a Doctor of Theology who has worked for peace, environmental rights, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.


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3. Alleged violation/s committed against the victim 24 August 2011 Dr. Song was arrested and detained on 24 August 2011. Given charge was the obstruction of construction because he was protesting on the top of construction crane at the naval base construction site. He was released on 23 November 2011 with 8 month in prison with 2 year of probation. The case is closed. 29 August 2011 In relation to the injunction applied by the navy, Dr. Song and 76 other human rights defenders are not allowed to enter the construction site including Gurumbi, and asked to pay 2million KRW (around 2,000 USD)

Statement by Dr. Song regarding his arrest on 1 April, which he submitted to the court (Translated into English). This statement shows how the police treated him when he was arrested. On 1 April around 2pm, I was protesting against ongoing constructions that destroy Gurumbi Rock bed and shouting "Stop blasting Gurumbi Rock" "Stop Construction!" "Stop it!”. I was there with Catholic Father Jeong-hyun Moon, Seong-hwan Kim, and former MP Ms. Ae-ja Hyun. All of us let out our frustration regarding the construction. Regardless many peoples' complaint, two hydraulic shovels kept blasting rockbed. It was only 10m away and between the hydraulic shovel and us there was a fence. I felt frustrated because workers at the construction site did not listen to us at

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whenever they enter the site. Dr. Song violated this several times and now around 20,000,000 KRW (around 20,000 USD) fine is charged to him. 2-4 October 2011 Dr. Song and around 10 villagers and human rights defenders took kayak to go to Gurumbi rockbed, the site of a new naval base. They tried to deliver some food and clothes to other human rights defenders who had a sit-in protest at Gurumbi rockbed. Cost guards overturned the kayak and all of them including Dr. Song jumped into the sea. Cost guards blocked one by one but especially to Dr. Song, at least 3~4 cost guards blocked him and pushed his head into the water, punched him in the water and took away his safety equipment in the sea. In relation to this case, Minbyun- Lawyers for a Democratic Society charged navy and asked for punishment. Unfortunately, the court case does not continue. 23 February 2012 Dr. Song took kayak to go to Gurumbi rockbed, stayed there for one night and was arrested by the Police. The coast of Gangjeong village, where the naval base is to be constructed, is classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The construction of a naval base will destroy the seashore, which is inhabited by a number of endangered marine species, bringing long-lasting negative impact to the environment and ecology. Going into Gurumbi is prohibited by the government because of the controversial construction of naval base in the area. He was released on 24 February with 6 months in prison with one year of probation. He was charged under obstructing government officials' execution of official duty. He appealed to the court and the case is still ongoing. 1 April 2012 Dr. Song tried to enter the rock bed, Gurumbi, the site of a new naval base, with 20 other human rights defenders. The police arrested him under the charge of obstructing official works. The court issued the detention warrant on 3 April under the reason that he might run away and high chance of

all. So, I walked over the fence to go near the hydraulic shovels so that I could shout near workers. In front of me, around 30 riot polices blocked the road with their shield and the commander was laughing. As soon as I crossed the fence, riot police stopped me, hit me and stepped on me with their foot. They twisted my left arm and one police pocked my ear with his hand. They stood on my feet on the sharp stones on the ground. While they carried me out, my head was bumped against a rock two to three times. Around 2:30, I was moved in front of the construction base by navy jeep and police car was waiting for me there. Police blocked the road to prevent peace activists and villagers from interrupting my arrest. As I believe that arrest was illegal and unjustifiable, I resisted being on the car and the police forcibly put me inside the police car. During this struggle, my upper body went under the car. But, several police officers dragged my leg and my head was squeezed between car and the ground. I screamed that my head was squeezed under the car, but the police officers kept dragged my legs regardless my outcry. Left part of my head was stuck between parts of the car underneath and my lower part was dragged by the police, so I could not say a single thing but cry out. As the police dragged harder, my teeth were broken and I could feel my teeth were crushed. I feared that my head would be separated from my body. To prevent this, I tried to move my body to the left but police kept dragging my body and some of them even dragged my penis. I could not see their face but I could hear their laugh. I could also hear that Father Seong-hwan Kim harshly complained about this malicious treatment. After around 5 to 10 minutes, I could finally come out of the car by pushing the car to the right by myself. When I was finally moved to the police car, police officers complained about me spitting out crushed teeth. And, police officer whose surname was 'Go' who sat behind the driver's seat, punched me. I could feel pain on my stomach. When we arrived at Seogwipo Police Station, I asked them whether I can use the phone because I had a severe pain on my chin, neck, right shoulder and back. I had to lie down due to the pain. However, the police officers laughed at me and said I should sleep more since I lied on the floor and I looked sleepy. I asked them to call an ambulance but the police called it only after 30 minutes.

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committing ‘crime’ again. Currently, Dr. Song is in prison and waiting for the trial.



5. Action by authorities On 22 February 2012, President Myung-bak Lee mentioned during his 4-year inauguration speech that he would continue to push construction of Jeju naval base. On 23 February 2012, closed meeting among the relevant authorities was held by the Prime Minister’s Office. On 6 March 2012, the Prime Minister’s Office made it clear that they cannot postpone the construction even though errors were found in the plan. The Office also emphasised that it will strictly prohibit people from holding “illegal” actions against the construction of navy base in Jeju. On 16 April 2012, the Seogwipo Police Station notified the Gangjeong Village Committee that it is not allowed to hold any demonstration from 15 April 2012 to 12 May 2012. The prohibited six areas are Gangjeong stream gym park, parking lot, in front of the Navy Base Construction Business Committee, in front of the construction site, Jungduk three-way intersection, and Gangjeong port. In addition to this, marching from Gangjeong stream gym park to Gangjeong port and Gangjeong meeting hall is also prohibited. This is almost all parts of Gangjeong that are related to navy base construction. The prohibition is based on Article 5 of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration. The police said that “people had sit-in protest in front of the construction site and it obstructs business”. The police blocked all possible demonstration in abovementioned areas including peaceful assembly and

Action taken by the victim or by human rights organizations One hundred and twenty four Korean organisations including peace organisations, environmental organisations, and religious organisations established a National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island. Since May 2011, the network has showed its solidarity to Gangjeong villagers and raised problems of constructing naval base in Gangjeong village. The network is doing actions including provide legal aid, lobby to the parliament, hold press conference on human rights violation in Gangjeong, organized people to visit Gangjeong to show solidarity to villagers. PSPD is the secretariat of the network. Internationally, several NGOs and individuals sent solidarity message to villagers of Gangjeong, Jeju. These messages include below: - Statement of Support by the Right Livelihood Award Laureates for the Non-violent Struggle against the construction of the Korean/USA Naval Base in Gangjeong (27 March 2012) - Joint Open letter to President of South Korea on Construction of Naval Base and Arrest of Demonstrators in Jeju Island (FORUM-ASIA, FIDH, OMCT and 28 other Asian NGOs, 21 March 2012) - Statement of Gwangju Prize Laureates Against Navy Base on World Peace Island Jeju (16 March 2012) - Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), sent a solidarity message to Gangjeong villagers (30

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demonstration. September 2011) - International Statement in support of Gangjeong Village (Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 8 June 2011)

6. Link between the violation and human rights work Dr. Kang-ho Song was arrested and harassed by the police because of his work as a peace activist and environmental defender. He has been defending villagers’ right to have a peaceful life and their environmental rights.

Previous incidents As of 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested and/or detained. For more details, please see the table in the Annex. Samsung C&T and Daerim, two construction companies claimed for damage against 10 villagers and they are now facing around 289,780,000KRW (around 255,000 USD). The case is still in process at the court. Below is major human rights violations happened in Gangjeong in the past: - 16 April 2012: Some human rights defenders connected their arms with PVC pipes and made a human wall to prevent a construction vehicle from entering the construction site. The police used electronic saw to cut that PVC pipes which had attached to human rights defenders arms. The police continued to use the saw to cut it even though human rights defenders were screaming out of fear. The saw was not strong enough to cut the PVC pipe but 14 protesters including one catholic priest were arrested during this struggle. - 15 March 2012: Mr. Benjamin Monnet, a French activist, while Ms. Angie Zelter, a peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the UK was asked to leave the country. Both of them were actively participated in the peace movement in Gangjeong. - 19 May 2011: Nine people including villagers and human rights defenders who were peacefully protesting were taken to police station. - 14 March 2012: Three Veterans For Peace members from the US who came to Korea to support peace movement in Jeju, Gangjeong was denied to enter the country at the airport without ground reason. - 30 September 2011: Three religious pastors were arrested while they were having a mass at the navy base construction site. They were arrested

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under the charge of interfering businesses. - 2 September 2011: Around 600 police officers entered Gangjeong village and arrested more than 35 people including catholic priests, nuns, human rights defenders and peace activists. - 24 August 2011: The police arrested and detained Mr. Dong-kyun Kang under the charge of interfering businesses. - 7 July 2011: The police applied for an injunction to 76 people including Mr. Dong-kyun Kang, under the charge of obstructing businesses.

7. Who is submitting this information? This letter is submitted by: Ms. HyunBach Chung Co-Representative People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) Tel. +82 2 723-7250, Fax: +82 2 6919 2004 Email: [email protected], www.peoplepower21.org



Year 2010




Year 2011









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Committee Site



Year 2012
















Gurumbi Rockbed





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Gurumbi Rockbed






Gurumbi Rockbed






Total 442

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Name of Defender: Mr. Yoon-mo YANG



1. Name of alleged victim/s Mr. Yoon-mo YANG

Nationality: Republic of Korea Age: 56 Occupation: Movie critic, peace activist

2. Status of the victim as a human rights defender Mr. Yang is a prominent peace activist as well as a movie critic and film maker. He is originally from Jeju island.


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3. Alleged violation/s committed against the victim Since 2010, Mr. Yang has been arrested for more than 4 times by the police. 6 April 2011 On 6 April 2011, he was detained under the charge of obstructing business because he stopped the construction vehicle from entering Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site by crawling under the vehicle. He was violently dragged by the police, even was taken off his pants in public, and was beaten during the arrest. He stayed in prison for 57 days and was released on 1 June 2011 on probation. For 57 days while he was in prison and additional 15 days after he was released, he had continued hunger strike in total for 71 days to protest against construction of naval base in Gangjeong.

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While he was prison, he was sending out peace message by letters. Also, some independent filmmakers who were angry about the arrest of Mr. Yang’s arrest made a film about injustice of constructing naval base in Jeju island.

30 January 2012 Mr. Yang was arrested at the construction site under the charge of obstructing business, received detention warrant on 2 February, and was detained on 7 February at Jeju prison. Together with other human rights defenders, he stopped the construction vehicle from entering Navy Base Construction Business Committee Site. On the day around 5pm, he saw women human rights defenders were harassed by the police and private gangs as they were protesting calling for stop construction of navy base. So, he entered under the construction vehicle and stopped it for around 10 minutes. He was released on 20 March 2012 on probation. Since the detention, he had been on a hunger strike and continued his hunger strike for 42 days.



5. Action by authorities On 22 February 2012, President Myung-bak Lee mentioned during his 4-year inauguration speech that he would continue to push construction of Jeju naval base. On 23 February 2012, closed meeting among the relevant authorities was held by the Prime Minister’s Office. On 6 March 2012, the Prime Minister’s Office made it clear that they cannot postpone the construction even though errors were found in the plan. The Office also emphasised that it will strictly prohibit people from holding “illegal” actions

Action taken by the victim or by human rights organizations One hundred and twenty four Korean organisations including peace organisations, environmental organisations, and religious organisations established a National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island. Since May 2011, the network has showed its solidarity to Gangjeong villagers and raised problems of constructing naval base in Gangjeong village. The network is doing actions including provide legal aid, lobby to the parliament, hold press conference on human rights

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against the construction of navy base in Jeju. On 16 April 2012, the Seogwipo Police Station notified the Gangjeong Village Committee that it is not allowed to hold any demonstration from 15 April 2012 to 12 May 2012. The prohibited six areas are Gangjeong stream gym park, parking lot, in front of the Navy Base Construction Business Committee, in front of the construction site, Jungduk three-way intersection, and Gangjeong port. In addition to this, marching from Gangjeong stream gym park to Gangjeong port and Gangjeong meeting hall is also prohibited. This is almost all parts of Gangjeong that are related to navy base construction. The prohibition is based on Article 5 of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration. The police said that “people had sit-in protest in front of the construction site and it obstructs business”. The police blocked all possible demonstration in abovementioned areas including peaceful assembly and demonstration.

violation in Gangjeong, organized people to visit Gangjeong to show solidarity to villagers. PSPD is the secretariat of the network. Internationally, several NGOs and individuals sent solidarity message to villagers of Gangjeong, Jeju. These messages include below: - Statement of Support by the Right Livelihood Award Laureates for the Non-violent Struggle against the construction of the Korean/USA Naval Base in Gangjeong (27 March 2012) - Joint Open letter to President of South Korea on Construction of Naval Base and Arrest of Demonstrators in Jeju Island (FORUM-ASIA, FIDH, OMCT and 28 other Asian NGOs, 21 March 2012) - Statement of Gwangju Prize Laureates Against Navy Base on World Peace Island Jeju (16 March 2012) - Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), sent a solidarity message to Gangjeong villagers (30 September 2011) - International Statement in support of Gangjeong Village (Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 8 June 2011)

6. Link between the violation and human rights work Mr. Yoon-mo Yang was arrested and harassed by the police because of his work as a peace activist and environmental defender. He has been defending villagers’ right to have a peaceful life and their environmental rights.

Previous incidents As of 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested and/or detained. For more details, please see the table in the Annex. Samsung C&T and Daerim, two construction companies claimed for damage against 10 villagers including Mr. Gang and they are now facing around 289,780,000KRW (around 255,000 USD). The case is still in process at the court. Below is major human rights violations happened in Gangjeong in the past: - 16 April 2012: Some human rights defenders connected their arms with PVC pipes and made a human wall to prevent a construction vehicle from entering the construction site. The police used electronic saw to cut that

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PVC pipes which had attached to human rights defenders arms. The police continued to use the saw to cut it even though human rights defenders were screaming out of fear. The saw was not strong enough to cut the PVC pipe but 14 protesters including one catholic priest were arrested during this struggle. - 15 March 2012: Mr. Benjamin Monnet, a French activist, while Ms. Angie Zelter, a peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the UK was asked to leave the country. Both of them were actively participated in the peace movement in Gangjeong. - 19 May 2011: Nine people including villagers and human rights defenders who were peacefully protesting were taken to police station. - 14 March 2012: Three Veterans For Peace members from the US who came to Korea to support peace movement in Jeju, Gangjeong was denied to enter the country at the airport without ground reason. - 30 September 2011: Three religious pastors were arrested while they were having a mass at the navy base construction site. They were arrested under the charge of interfering businesses. - 2 September 2011: Around 600 police officers entered Gangjeong village and arrested more than 35 people including catholic priests, nuns, human rights defenders and peace activists. - 24 August 2011: The police arrested and detained Mr. Dong-kyun Kang under the charge of interfering businesses. - 7 July 2011: The police applied for an injunction to 76 people including Mr. Dong-kyun Kang, under the charge of obstructing businesses.


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Year 2010




Year 2011


















Committee Site



Year 2012






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Gurumbi Rockbed







Gurumbi Rockbed






Gurumbi Rockbed






Total 442

1


Name of Defender: Mr. Dong-kyun Kang



1. Name of alleged victim/s Mr. Dong-kyun KANG

Nationality: Republic of Korea Age: 53 Occupation: Leader of Gangjeong Village, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea

2. Status of the victim as a human rights defender Mr. Kang is the leader of Gangjeong village, where the Republic of Korea Government is planning to construct a naval base without proper consultation with villagers. He is fighting for villagers’ right to peace, environmental rights, freedom of expression and opinion, and freedom of peaceful assembly.


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3. Alleged violation/s committed against the victim Mr. Kang is currently under several criminal charges including obstruction of official works, obstruction of business, violation of the Public Waters Reclamation Act and the Act on Assembly and Demonstration. His demonstration since the beginning of the protest was continuously peaceful and there was no violence committed from his side. Even so, he was arrested and harassed several times by the police and navy. 24 August 2011 He was arrested and detained on 24 August 2011 under the charge of obstructing construction because he was protesting on the top of construction crane at the naval base construction site. The court issued a

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detention warrant to Mr. Kang. He was detained for 92 days until the first trial and finally, was released on 23 November with 10,000,000 KRW (around 9,000 USD) bail. He is still on probation for three years. He appealed to the court and is now waiting for the next trial date. 29 August 2011 According to the injunction applied by the navy, Mr. Kang and 76 other human rights defenders are not allowed to enter the construction site including Gurumbi, and asked to pay 2million KRW (around 20,000 USD) whenever they enter the site.



5. Action by authorities On 22 February 2012, President Myung-bak Lee mentioned during his 4-year inauguration speech that he would continue to push construction of Jeju naval base. On 23 February 2012, closed meeting among the relevant authorities was held by the Prime Minister’s Office. On 6 March 2012, the Prime Minister’s Office made it clear that they cannot postpone the construction even though errors were found in the plan. The Office also emphasised that it will strictly prohibit people from holding “illegal” actions against the construction of navy base in Jeju. On 16 April 2012, the Seogwipo Police Station notified the Gangjeong Village Committee that it is not allowed to hold any demonstration from 15 April 2012 to 12 May 2012. The prohibited six areas are Gangjeong stream gym park, parking lot, in front of the Navy Base Construction Business Committee, in front of the construction site, Jungduk three-way intersection, and

Action taken by the victim or by human rights organizations One hundred and twenty four Korean organisations including peace organisations, environmental organisations, and religious organisations established a National Network of Korean Civil Society for Opposing to the Naval Base in Jeju Island. Since May 2011, the network has showed its solidarity to Gangjeong villagers and raised problems of constructing naval base in Gangjeong village. The network is doing actions including provide legal aid, lobby to the parliament, hold press conference on human rights violation in Gangjeong, organized people to visit Gangjeong to show solidarity to villagers. PSPD is the secretariat of the network. Internationally, several NGOs and individuals sent solidarity message to villagers of Gangjeong, Jeju. These messages include below: - Statement of Support by the Right Livelihood Award Laureates for the Non-violent Struggle against the construction of the Korean/USA Naval Base

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Gangjeong port. In addition to this, marching from Gangjeong stream gym park to Gangjeong port and Gangjeong meeting hall is also prohibited. This is almost all parts of Gangjeong that are related to navy base construction. The prohibition is based on Article 5 of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration. The police said that “people had sit-in protest in front of the construction site and it obstructs business”. The police blocked all possible demonstration in abovementioned areas including peaceful assembly and demonstration.

in Gangjeong (27 March 2012) - Joint Open letter to President of South Korea on Construction of Naval Base and Arrest of Demonstrators in Jeju Island (FORUM-ASIA, FIDH, OMCT and 28 other Asian NGOs, 21 March 2012) - Statement of Gwangju Prize Laureates Against Navy Base on World Peace Island Jeju (16 March 2012) - Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), sent a solidarity message to Gangjeong villagers (30 September 2011) - International Statement in support of Gangjeong Village (Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, 8 June 2011)

6. Link between the violation and human rights work Mr. Dong-kyun Kang was arrested and harassed by the police because of his work as a peace activist and environmental defender. As the leader of the village, he has a responsibility to deliver villagers’ message to the government regarding navy base construction. He has been defending villagers’ right to have a peaceful life and their environmental rights.

Previous incidents As of 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested and/or detained. For more details, please see the table in the Annex. Samsung C&T and Daerim, two construction companies claimed for damage against 10 villagers including Mr. Gang and they are now facing around 289,780,000KRW (around 255,000 USD). The case is still in process at the court. Below is major human rights violations happened in Gangjeong in the past: - 16 April 2012: Some human rights defenders connected their arms with PVC pipes and made a human wall to prevent a construction vehicle from entering the construction site. The police used electronic saw to cut that PVC pipes which had attached to human rights defenders arms. The police continued to use the saw to cut it even though human rights defenders were screaming out of fear. The saw was not strong enough to cut the PVC pipe but 14 protesters including one catholic priest were arrested during this struggle. - 15 March 2012: Mr. Benjamin Monnet, a French activist, while Ms. Angie Zelter, a peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the UK was

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asked to leave the country. Both of them were actively participated in the peace movement in Gangjeong. - 19 May 2011: Nine people including villagers and human rights defenders who were peacefully protesting were taken to police station. - 14 March 2012: Three Veterans For Peace members from the US who came to Korea to support peace movement in Jeju, Gangjeong was denied to enter the country at the airport without ground reason. - 30 September 2011: Three religious pastors were arrested while they were having a mass at the navy base construction site. They were arrested under the charge of interfering businesses. - 2 September 2011: Around 600 police officers entered Gangjeong village and arrested more than 35 people including catholic priests, nuns, human rights defenders and peace activists. - 24 August 2011: The police arrested and detained Mr. Dong-kyun Kang under the charge of interfering businesses. - 7 July 2011: The police applied for an injunction to 76 people including Mr. Dong-kyun Kang, under the charge of obstructing businesses.



Date Reason of Arrest Number Location Year 2010



6


Year 2011


















Committee Site



Year 2012












7





Gurumbi Rockbed







Gurumbi Rockbed






Gurumbi Rockbed






Total 442

Individual Complaint-ROK-PSPD-18Apr2012

Documents

human rights violence

korean human rights

environmental rights

ongoing human rights

villagers of gangjeong

gangjeong village

naval base project

father moon