5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Last week The Hankyoreh published an article about the collaboration between the police and so-called "security guards". And I added that's not a new realization!
Since many years it's a common practice for the construction mafia (i.e. the construction companies who are involved in the "redevelopment" projects) to use such kind of "security guards" (in reality they are just organized gangs of criminals) to intimidate and terrorize residents/tenants who are resisting their evictions. And "normally" the "service" of the "security guards" has (at least) the approval by the appropriate (city/district) authorities and the police.
Usually, when the "security guards" are on the move to attack resisting residents/tenants, they're backed by (in some cases in the past) thousands of riot cops. Some "very famous" examples: the Ilsan/Pung-dong Struggle (spring/summer 2004) and the attack on Seoul's Samgak/Suha-dong (winter 2004/05).
Anyway, today's Hankyoreh published following up-to-date report:
Construction companies hiring security guards
to intimidate residents in Yongsan
Area residents and businesspeople claim guards use violence, including verbal threats and blackmail
The recent deadly police crackdown on demonstrators in Yongsan, which left five civilians and one police officer dead, is putting the spotlight on security guards hired to use violence to evict residents to make way for redevelopment projects. Like many sites slated for redevelopment, the Yongsan area has been cited as a place where security guards have used diverse types of violence on residents and store owners to facilitate the redevelopment process.
Horam Construction, a small demolition company, is currently spearheading efforts to evict residents and businesses near Yongsan Station, where the deadly demonstration took place. Another company, Hyunam Construction, was hired to evict people living and doing business near the ChungAng University Medical Center building, also in the Yongsan area. Residents in both areas claim that the two companies used diverse types of violence, including verbal threats and blackmail, to force them out.
Ms. Kim, the owner of a convenience store in Yongsan, said, “Last summer, a few security guards stormed into our store and threatened our part-time female staff, saying, ‘Are you also a member of Jun Chul Yun, b**ch?,’” referring to the Federation Against House Demolition, which is suspected of having played a leading role in the protest. Kim said that she reported the incident to the police immediately, but that it took 30 minutes for officers to arrive at the scene. “I showed police a CCTV tape that recorded the threats of the security guards and told them that they prevented me from doing business, but no actual measures were taken.”
An anonymous official at Hyunam Construction admitted that some hired security guards use violence on residents, but added that Jun Chul Yun is also to be blamed for such clashes. “It’s true that some security guards use violence.” The individual went on to explain that residents seldom accept offers of compensation in exchange for moving out of areas slated for redevelopment, and said that this is because Jun Chul Yun forbids such action by individual members.
Officially, Hyunam claims that it has not used any violence on residents. Tenants and store owners, however, say that security guards have harassed them in many different ways. They say they have had stinking garbage dumped on their property or water poured on the roofs of their homes.
Yu Eui-seon, an activist with another tenants’ rights group, said, “The main mission of these security guards was to demolish vacant houses, but the mission seems to have changed and includes evicting tenants. The reason why they use such unbridled violence might be because they feel they have the support of large construction firms, which are often seeking to complete lucrative redevelopment projects as quickly as possible.”
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/335462.html
IMC S.K. and KCTU released today following "Urgent Appeal for Immediate Action":
Stop forced evictions and further death in South Korea
In
1. Summary of the Incidence
At 6 a.m. on 20th January, people who were asking for solutions to avoid eviction in February in Youngsan-Gu,
Dispatching a special police force for an anti-terror operation in less than 24 hours is a rare case even in
A place to pray for the dead was set up at the spot of the incident. Despite of it being the Korean New Year holiday, visits from people continue. A fact finding committee composed of civilian organizations is carrying out investigations whilst the government is trying to close the case as soon as possible.
2. Background and Characteristics
It is well known that there are many problems coupled to rapid re-development projects in
For over a year, lodgers in the re-development project area demanded the Yongsan-Gu Office for appropriate protection. The Yongsan-Gu Office provided no opportunity for talk or negotiation. Local lodgers went to the Youngsan-Gu Office to file an appeal but got rejected. During this appeal process, private security officers hired by the construction company threatened the lodgers and sexually harassed them. However, the police did not take any action against the private security officer’s practices. Despite the fact that eviction in the cold season requires the taking of special measures prior to the eviction, the Youngsan-Gu Office approved the construction company’s request to initiate the re-development from February. Lodgers faced with forced eviction entered the empty building to stage protests against this process and lost their life due to violent police operation.
Lodgers living in re-development areas are excluded from both the process and results of re-development projects as they do not own a property in the area. Re-development to improve the housing condition causes inequality in housing as many lodgers have to move into a place worse than their previous housing. A serous problem is that in the previously re-developed area, only 10~15 % of local residents will get to stay in that same area.
Lodgers suffer a serious violation of their housing rights during the re-development process. The aim of re-development projects should be in improvement of housing conditions and relieving poverty for the people living there. The government is obliged to provide necessary information and guarantee participation for people living there regardless of their ownership of the housing. However, these demands are ignored by the government and the construction companies who get benefits from the re-development in
On the other hand, the investigation carried out at the government level is criticized for being biased. The police carried out autopsies of the bodies of the victims without the consent of their families. The police report on the incident was revealed to be false in light of a variety of evidence reported by the major media. The police attitude, which is neither democratic nor transparent, creates deeper mistrust. A fair and impartial system for the investigation is urgently required. Rather than trying to close the case as soon as possible, an effort to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again and a guarantee of democratic participation are required.
3. Demands
* Guarantee participation of civil organizations in the investigation process to secure a fair and thorough investigation.
* Punish those responsible for the incidence.
* Review current re-development projects which do not guarantee the right to housing of the lodgers.
* Guarantee the right to housing as a human right.
4. Action for everyone
We would like to show international support at the second pan-national memorial for the dead. Please email us your supporting messages and let us know whether you would sign our statement by noon of the 30th January. Please also send us a copy of your complaints for those responsible. Sending complaints for those responsible continues until mid February.
Email to Sarangbang Group for Human Rights : humanrights@sarangbang.or.kr
1) Send us your supporting messages.
2) Please sign the statement below.
|
We urge the South Korean government to protect victims of forced evictions and to carry out a thorough investigation and punish the responsible for the deaths that occurred during the police action in Youngsan-Gu, We pray for the repose of the deceased who protested to secure the right to housing. With sorrow and anger about the deaths, we send our warmest regards to the family. We feel devastated with the reality that a demand for a living with dignity turned into a death and send our support to the family and people in We pay attention to the fact that this incidence was rooted in the problems of the re-development process in We confirm that the aim of re-development projects should lie on improving the right to housing. We are concerned that the re-development process in Sending our support and expressing our solidarity to those in * Guarantee participation of civil organizations in the investigation process to secure a fair and through investigation. * Punish those responsible for the incidence. * Review current re-development projects which do not guarantee the right to housing of the lodgers. * Recognize housing as a human right and guarantee this right to housing. |
3) Please, send any protesting messages to the following addresses:
Myungbak Lee, the president of
http://www.bluehouse.go.kr/kr/index.php
1 Sejongno Jongno gu
Tel +822-730-5800
Fax: +822-770-4943/+822-770-2440
Sehoon Won, the minister of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security
Tel +822-2100-3000
Fax: +822-2100-4001
Seokgi Kim, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
Tel +822-720-3993
Fax: +822-754-7000
Sehoon Oh, the Mayor of
Tel: +822-731-6060
Fax +822-737-8688
In place of "beautiful" Seollal (Lunar New Year) pictures, resp. "best" Seollal wishes:
source: OMN
The Yongsan Massacre, once again, proved the ongoing collaboration between the cops and criminal gangs ("security guards") - mainly hired by the construction mafia (i.e. companies, such as POSCO, Samsung, Hyundai etc..)!
Just read following article (Of course that's not a new realization!! Later - in the coming days - I'll write more detailed about it..), published in Hankyoreh (1.24):
Radio transmission reveals police armed
security guards for Yongsan crackdown
Security guards bearing sledgehammers stormed demonstration site with police before deadly fire broke out
A recording of a police radio transmission made just before Tuesday’s deadly crackdown on a protest in the Yongsan district revealed that police armed and hired security guards to participate in a joint operation to evict tenants and protesters. The record, which contradicts the police’s assertion that it did not mobilize the contracted personnel, is expected to influence an ongoing investigation being conducted by the prosecution.
Lawmakers Kim Yoo-jeong and Kang Ki-jeong of the main opposition Democratic Party released the recording of the police radio transmission on Friday. “Before the crackdown on protesters began at dawn on Jan. 20, police had radio communication with security guards about its plans to conduct a joint operation,” a statement read by the lawmakers said. The recording was submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at the lawmakers’ request.
According to the transcript of the radio transmission, at 06:29:42 on Tuesday a police officer said that, “With sledgehammers and other devices, the security guards will follow our unit and are preparing to remove the blockades on the third and fourth floors.” In response, another police officer said at 06:29:59, “Roger that. Along with four police officers, security guards with devices are in the process of removing obstacles between the third and fourth floors.”
The transcript shows that special police commandos and security guards armed with sledgehammers and other devices entered the building together on Tuesday. The security guards were then instructed to remove obstacles welded on the door to the rooftop, where protesters were holed up in a makeshift tower.
According to a police report on the situation in the Yongsan 4th Zone on that day, police stepped up the crackdown operation at 6:30 a.m., immediately after the radio communication was made, by sending police commandos into the building. The transcript supports remarks by witnesses and protesters who have said that the security guards reached the third floor of the building, where they threatened demonstrators with sledgehammers and then started a fire in order to send smoke up to the roof.
Police have maintained that the security guards exited the building before the police operation began.
Kim called on police to provide an explanation about the recording and accused police of “trying to hide and manipulate the explanation for the reasons behind the Yongsan tragedy.” Kim said she will not overlook the prosecution’s failure to investigate basic evidence such as the recording of the police radio transmission.
The “Committee against the Brutal Suppression of the Yongsan Demolition Protest” said in a statement made at a press conference Friday, “As it has been found that police carried out the murderous crackdown with the firm that was contracted, there should be a thorough investigation into the potentially inappropriate relationship between the police and the firm to assign responsibility for this tragedy.”
In response, police say they “are in the process of figuring out whether such things happened at the time of the crackdown operation.”
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/335162.html
Hankyoreh cartoon (1.23):
Lee “The Bulldozer” Myung-bak sits behind “murderous” police tactics and hired
thugs and blames all of his problems on a single Molotov cocktail.
Instead of preparing tonight for Seollal, the Lunar New Year holidays, hundreds of activists and citizens - mourning the victims of the Yongsan Massacre in particular and protesting against the LMB administration in general - were blocked, attacked and chased around by thousands of riot cops in downtown Seoul (*)!
* Ultimately the protesters after a while outfoxed the cops, occupied Shinchon's main intersection and the streets leading to Hongdae (the current temperature in Seoul: - 12°C) ..
Related reports:
☞ 추모행렬, 홍익대학교 앞에서 거리시위
☞ 시민 3000명, 신촌로터리 '점령'
동지여러분의 연대를 부탁드립니다!
열사정신계승하여 민중권리 쟁취하자
살인정권 폭력정권 이명박정권 박살내자
자본주의 박살내자!
Related article (by VoP, 1.22):
촛불 다시 모인다..23일 서울역서 '용산참사 추모대회'
범대위 "야만을 멈출 행동 필요"..시민들의 참가 호소
오는 23일(금) 서울 용산 철거민 참사를 추모하고 책임자 처벌 촉구 및 이명박 정권을 규탄하는 대규모 추모집회가 열린다.
'이명박정권 용산 철거민 살인진압 범국민대책위원회'(이하 범대위)는 23일 오후 7시 서울역광장에서 '용산참사 범국민추모대회'를 개최한다고 22일 밝혔다.
범대위는 이번 참사를 '이명박 정부의 학살만행'으로 규정하고 "학살만행을 그대로 두고 볼 수 없다. 원통하게 죽어간 이들의 넋을 기리며 함께 모여 외치자"며 범국민추모대회의 목적을 밝혔다.
지난해 12월31일 서울 보신각 주변을 가득 메웠던 수만 개의 촛불이 이번 범국민추모대회를 기점으로 다시 결집될 지 관심을 모으고 있다.
범대위는 "최소한의 주거권, 생존권을 위해 투쟁에 나섰지만 단 하루 만에 되돌아 온 것은 폭력과 죽음이었다"며 "생명보다 개발, 인간보다 이윤, 그것이 가져온 것은 죽음이었다"고 규탄했다. 또 "이명박 살인정권을 더 이상 용서할 수 없다. 지금 그 야만을 멈출 행동이 필요하다"며 시민들의 동참을 호소했다.
범대위는 이번 대회의 주요 구호를 '철거민을 죽음으로 몰아넣은 살인진압 규탄한다', '살인진압 폭력만행 책임자를 처벌하라', '정부와 경찰은 사건 왜곡과 은폐 기도를 즉각 중단하라', '살인적인 재개발정책 즉각 중단하라', '노동자민중 다 죽이는 이명박 정권 퇴진하라'로 정했다.
범대위은 설 연휴 뒤인 오는 31일(토)에도 2차 범국민추모대회를 열겠다고 밝혔다.
한편 경찰관계자는 "서울역 추모대회에 대해 집회신고를 허용하지 않았지만 사전에 집회를 차단하지는 않을 것"이라고 말했다.
http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000239589.html
Y'day late evening/night in the aftermath of the Yongsan Massacre (where thousands of criminal gangsters, hired by the construction mafia and the Yongsan District gov't, riot cops and SWAT/anti-terror units attacked the sit-in protest..) a - from the beginning - peaceful protest demonstration from Yongsan to Myeongdong by 500 activists and citizens has been attacked by thousands of riot cops, using water-cannons etc:
Reports about the "incident" (incl. videos/photos) you can see here, here and here.
To dictatorship we go! (Hankyoreh cartoon, 1.21)
One of the protesters in yesterday’s violent disaster demands to know if he is looking at what is the first “work of art” by the president’s personal guards. The “MB” on the officer’s sleeve stands for Lee Myung-bak.
In a pun written in the lower right-hand corner, the scene is described as the “on the way to dictatorship zone,” but the phrasing uses the name “Gaza,” which, spelled in Korean, means “Let’s go!” or, in this case, “Let’s move on to dictatorship.”
Jan. 20, Seoul, Yongsan District:
SWAT Unit Attacked Sit-in Strike, Executed Massacre
"The cops were going at the protesters as if they were out to kill them!"
Last year LMB(the current S. Korean president) "vowed" to smash any "illegal" labour strike or resistance activity against the current (capitalist) system in S. Korea.
And today in the morning we could witnessing that his "promise" wasn't empty:
A two-hour long massive and extreme violent crackdown, executed by an Anti-terror/SWAT unit (death squad??!!) , against 40 activists protesting a so-called "redevelopment" project in Yongsan, central Seoul, left at least six people dead and 17 injured.
Some eyewitnesses said that the cops set fire to the fortified tower in order to get the occupiers to evacuate the building.
"Four protesters and a riot cop died after a fire engulfed the five-meter high observation tower built by the demonstrators on the rooftop of a four-story building in the area. One body remains unidentified as of press time", according to Korea Herald.
K. Times: A watchtower, set up by protesters on the top of a building in Yongsan, Seoul, is in
flames during a police operation to evict them, Tuesday. Six people including a police officer were
killed and more than 20 were injured. The demonstrators, mainly residents and small business
operators, had staged a sit-in since Monday, protesting the redevelopment of the district.
☞ Deaths in S Korea tower protest (al-Jazeera)
Related (independent) reports:
☞ "살인정권, 살인진압" (Docu-video, by "Hong Gil-dong..")
☞ Detailed report in Korean (OMN)
☞ Special Report Section (OMN)
☞ "어떻게 사람을... 우리는 사람도 아니다" (TiN)
S. Korean bourgeois stuff:
☞ Six dead, over 20 injured after police clash at construction site (Yonhap)
☞ At least 6 killed in police clash (Korea Herald)
☞ 6 Dead in Fire After Police-Tenant Standoff (Korea Times)
☞ Investigation widens on deadly police clash with protesters (Yonhap)
☞ [NEWS ANALYSIS]Deadly crackdown a blow to Lee (K. Herald)
Today's Hankyoreh published following interesting report:
In Daegu, metal workers take unique
approach to labor losses
Regular workers alternate participation in partial work stoppage, allowing irregular and migrant workers to keep their jobs
“Other migrant workers have lost their jobs, but we’re still working.” So says 30 year-old Munasic, of Indonesia, busily working a press machine on January 16 at Samwoo Precision Industries in Daegu’s Seongseo Industrial Complex. Eighteen of the automobile engine parts company’s 85 employees are migrant workers.
Hard economic times have meant that irregular and migrant workers are the first to lose their jobs, but the migrant workers at Samwoo Precision Industries, who because of the time limit set on how long they are able to work in the country are irregular workers as well, have been able to keep their jobs with the help of their union.
In December, the company suddenly announced that it would have to let migrant worker employees go because of “difficult company conditions.” Sales in November and December 2008 shrank by 30 percent of what they had been for the same period in 2007, and company executives said they had no choice but to reduce production and the number of employees.
The company’s branch union of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union said it would “absolutely” not permit that to happen. It suggested an alternative -- the company’s 40 regular production workers would divide themselves into two groups and alternate taking two-week holidays for the next three months. The company would then be able to apply for government financial assistance designed to help companies keep people in their jobs during temporary work shutdowns, allowing the regular workers to receive 80 percent of their wages during their off-times. The irregular migrant workers who as such are not able to pay into the same “employment insurance” program, and therefore are unable to receive the same assistance, would just keep on working.
Before the year was out, the union and the company had met and decided to put the union’s plan to use. The program of alternating the partial work stoppage went into effect on January 12.
“I was really worried about there being less work,” said Munasik. “It’s really fortunate I can go on working.”
“All we managed to do was prevent layoffs,” said KMWU Chairman Kim Tae-eop. “Now we need to find a better way to deal” with the reduced production. The company and the union are still going to have to find ways to have workers keep their jobs and maintain basic livelihoods at a time when both regular and migrant workers have already seen their actual wages grow smaller.
A Samwoo executive is frank about the company’s choices. “We came up with a temporary plan in response to union demands, but if the situation gets worse we’re going to have to come up with something else.”
The “Samwoo Precision Industries Branch Union of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union” began accepting migrant workers as union members in 2007, after the national union, seeking to embrace irregular workers, called for all workers at the same work site to be part of the same union. This was called the “one union per company principle,” a departure from the practice of having separate unions for migrant and other irregular workers. Migrant workers enjoy the same working conditions as regular employees under KMWU regulations. Last year “Eddie,” a 34 year-old Indonesian worker, was elected to represent the company union at the KMWU’s Daegu region conference.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/334071.html
Well, it seems that (the "Dear Leader"/"H.H.") Kim Jong-il - most likely - ordered the foundation of a "think tank", where dozens of "experts" are very busy to figure out the "best ways" how to provoke the incoming U.S. (Obama) administration!
"Proof"(^^) needed? Just read following, reported y'day by the S.K. (semi-official) news agency Yonhap:
N. Korea says it may retain nuclear weapons
after normalized ties with US
In an apparent message to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama who will take office next week, North Korea said Saturday it may not give up its nuclear weapons even if Washington normalizes relations with it.
"Normalization of diplomatic relations and the nuclear issue are entirely different issues," a spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said in a statement, declaring that Pyongyang will keep its nuclear capability until it feels safe from what it called the ever-present U.S. nuclear threat.
"We can live without normalized relations with the United States but can't live without nuclear deterrence. That is the reality of Korea today," he said.
The statement confirmed North Korea's current policy but comes ahead of Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration. In a departure from the policy of current U.S. President George W. Bush, Obama has voiced the usefulness of direct dialogue with Pyongyang to resolve the nuclear issue.
"Even if the DPRK-U.S. normalization of relations is achieved, our status as a nuclear weapons state will never founder as long as the U.S. nuclear threat remains even a bit," said the statement, carried by the country's Korean News Agency monitored in Seoul...
South Korean analysts agree that the North's statement is meant for the incoming U.S. government...
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2009/01/17/8/0301000000AEN20090117001600315F.HTML
Related articles/news:
☞ Smart power play in Pyongyang (Asia Times, 1.17)
☞ N. Korea Threatens Clash With South (NYT, 1.17)
☞ Tensions Rise on Korean Peninsula (IHT, 1.18)
☞ S. Korea takes N. Korea's military threats seriously (Yonhap, 1.18)
☞ N.K. seeks Obama's attention, experts say (K. Herald, 1.18)
☞ 조선"인민"군 총참모부... 경고 (TiN/조선중앙TV, 1.17)
☞ 정부, NLL 등 접경지역에 군사력 대거 보강 (VoP, 1.18)
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