A woman activist, ‘Deulkkot,’ appeals to Ku Seul-Hwan, an infamous Seogwipo Police staff member with a humorous note. More Photos by Cho Sung-Bong, here.
The daily struggle is going on in front of naval base project construction gates. The numbers of committed people who daily appear are usually small-less than 20. They are daily roughed out and carried by police 10 times or even 12 times even by the night. They are hurt with bruise in all parts of their body or scratched by police women’s nails during their resistance process. As sometimes their cloths are taken off during the process of the police forcefully pulling off their bodies, humiliation is what they risk to bear, too. Seldom is time even for going to the communal restaurant for meals. Meals are carried to be taken with street dusts. Still they hardly leave the field. Blocking and delaying cement mixer truck is more important for them, even though they will be dragged and bruised, soon. Street art and graffiti are everywhere: on the street, on the wall, on the poles.
A male policeman is grabbing a woman peacekeeper’s wrist even after roughing out on Oct. 23, 2012. Photo by Kim Gami.
The construction (destruction) is being accelerated with the completion of the giant caisson production frame on the Gureombi Rock coast. It is told that the contracted companies finished test operation for producing caisson on Oct. 23. Caissons that need more than 450 ton cement mixer truck for one by filling the giant mold frame with cement will be rapidly produced soon. About 200 workers from the Vietnam and Philippine will be brought into the construction site with cheaper wages to be exploited for 24 hours. That has been the case of Hwasoon where the Samsung C & T sub-contracted companies enforced the production of 9,000 ton caissons, of which 10 are now floating, whether broken or not by typhoons in the Gangjeong Sea.
Video by Novie Na on Oct. 23, 2012
It is told that the navy has requested more policemen to enforce construction for 24 hours! The people’s struggle will be then for 24 hours in shift, too! Even the policemen think the navy is crazy. It is expected that the numbers of the policemen will increase at least by the end of this week: From about 250 (3 police companies) to 500 (6 police companies) daily. The government has been pouring the people’s tax to enforce this illegal construction (destruction). 24 hours police watch, seldom precedent since the military dictatorship of Park Chung-Hee during 60s and 70s.
On Oct. 19, 2012, the Jeju press reported that Ku Seul Hwan, the Security director of the Seogwipo Police Station got a medal from the Jeju Provincial Police Agency on the Day of the Police, being acknowledged for his exploit in his security duty for the VIPs in the WCC. But he is an infamous man for the peacekeepers in Gangjeong. He is the one very well known to direct his policemen to use hammer and electric saw to the cut the PVC pipes with which the peace keepers have connected their arms one another to block the explosive cars and cement mixer trucks on March 19 and April 16, this year. Forget human rights Gangjeong.
Despite all those, it is encouraging to hear that as of September, the navy could use only 50 billion won of the 107 billion won allocated for the base project budget, 2012, which has law-evasively been transferred from last year. The navy has planned to use 78 billion won by September. The not-executed 28 billion won is what the field protesters could bring for all of us. Their daily dedication is bringing the result.
How you can help them? Please pressure the ROK National Assembly members to cut all budgets on the Jeju naval base project .( *The government says that the total cost for the Jeju navy base project is about 1.7 trillion won) For example, ENGLISH@ASSEMBLY.GO.KR or Moon Jae-In, Permanent Advisor, Democratic United party, Presidential candidate: moonriver365@gmail.com.
