전체메뉴

A Strange Death Certificate of Baek Nam-gi, Victim of Water Cannon

Myungju Lee

Oct. 21, 2016

R.I.P. stands for Rest In Peace. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell Mr. Baek Nam-gi so, a 69-year-old Korean wheat farmer, who died on Sep. 25th. Now it’s the forth week since he died. Yet the Baeks can't even hold a funeral and let the old farmer’s body go back to the bosom of the earth because there is a controversy boiling over his body.

Mr. Baek was critically injured during a massive anti-government protest on Nov.14, 2015. He was struck down to the ground as police scored a direct hit on his face with a water cannon. That day, the police fired a high-pressure water cannon (14bar, approximately 2800-3000rpm) mixed with tear gas (0.5% concentration) against protesters. As soon as Mr. Baek was hit, he fell and hit the ground on the back of his head. Then he was sent to the Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital, where he would spend the next 317 days in a coma.

SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY WATER CANNON

In the hospital, a neurosurgeon told his family that Mr. Baek had no chance to survive. Half of his cerebrum as well as brainstem was damaged. His CT scan image revealed "acute subdural hemorrhage".

Baek Doraji, Mr. Baek’s daughter, recalls, “The doctor instructed my family that we’d better take our father to a hospice after the weekend because there was nothing much the hospital could do considering how fatal my father’s injury was.”

Then, a peculiar event happened. Dr. Baek Sun-ha, a chief neurosurgeon in the hospital, suddenly arrived three hours after Mr. Baek had. Doraji remembers that the doctor was in his hiking outfit. Dr. Baek decided that he would operate on Mr. Baek to stem bleeding in the brain. Dr. Baek still warned the family, “Even if the operation is successful, your father could suffer various complications from use of medication and long hospitalization.” The family agreed on the surgery.

Lying in the ICU bed, Mr. Baek wrestled with death. During the 10-month fight, a number of complications appeared such as pneumonia and blood infection. In July 2016, he suffered acute kidney failure.

At that point, doctors recommended dialysis to the family. But the Baeks decided that they would only do comfort care because Mr. Baek used to tell the family that he would be against aggressive life-prolonging treatment when his time came. The family wanted to respect his will.

They could never imagine their decision to forgo life-prolonging treatment would end up in a quagmire two months later. When Mr. Baek died on September 25th, the SNU Hospital issued a controversial death certificate. According to it, Mr. Baek died as a result of disease.

Dr. Baek, “Had his family agreed on dialysis, he would have lived.”

At a press conference held on October 3rd, Dr. Baek Sun-ha, came out to public and confirmed there was nothing wrong with the death certificate. Dr. Baek said, “Mr. Baek died of cardiac and respiratory failure due to hyperkalemia (exceedingly high-level of potassium in the blood system) which is caused by his kidney failure. Therefore, the manner of his death should be classified as disease.” He added, “Had his family agreed on dialysis, he would have lived.”

Other doctors believe otherwise, though. According to the rule set by the Korean Doctors Federation, heart failure is a symptom of death; thus, it cannot be written as a cause of death.

Hundreds of doctors and medical students supported Mr. Baek’s family by announcing a statement that Mr. Baek’s cause of death is acute subdural hemorrhage; therefore, the manner of death must be classified as injury. They criticized Dr. Baek saying, "It is a sheer shame that Dr. Baek Sun-ha, who must have known these rules better than anybody else, is insisting on this nonsense." A wide range of doctors and lawyers suspect there could be "other reasons or pressure" to manipulate the fact this way.

There is public outcry as Dr. Baek has tossed the blame to the family. The Baeks and the citizens say, "There is no doubt Baek nam-gi is a victim of state violence. He is murdered by the police's indiscriminate use of water cannon."

Police, "We need to do an autopsy to verify the cause of his death."

However, the police and the prosecutors are using the SNU Hospital's death certificate to legitimize their claim that they need to do an autopsy to verify the cause of Mr. Baek's death. Even a congressman from the ruling Saenuri party publicly said, “It does not make sense that a person could die from water cannon. There must be other causes.” He also demanded an autopsy and further investigation by the police and the prosecutors.

Seoul Central District Court first rejected to issue a warrant for an autopsy. But when the prosecutors requested it for the second time, the court issued a conditional autopsy warrant, which permits autopsy under the family's approval and direction.

The Baeks are firm. "Neither do we want an autopsy, nor we believe it is necessary because the cause of death is far more than obvious. The whole country knows it. How can we pass his body to the hands of those who killed him? We demand justice. What we need is an apology, not autopsy. We also request a special prosecutor to investigate on this issue of state violence."

A person was murdered from water cannon by the police, the state power. The family has suffered immensely for his injury and death. Yet not a single word of apology or sincere condolences was heard from those who are responsible. 

240 HOURS WITH BAEK NAM-GI

There have been many citizen volunteers showing up at the SNU Hospital's funeral site every night and day to keep police away. They fear the police might confiscate the body and do a forced autopsy against the family's wish.

One may denounce that their fear and voluntarism are exaggerated. However, "body snatching" by police is not unknown in Korea. For instance, in 1991, police had hammered down a wall to break in and took away the body in the middle of the funeral ceremony of Park Kyung-su, a union leader. Then they carried out a forced autopsy to distort the cause of death.

People, whose memories are still scarred by the nightmare of such nefarious state violence, are not willing to yield Mr. Baek’s body. These people are participating in "240 Hours with Baek Nam-Gi" guarding the funeral site until the autopsy warrant expires on October 25th. 

The police has ignited public anger by deploying a large number of force to Mr. Baek's funeral site. When news got out that his condition was critical on September 24th, which happened to be his 70th birthday, the police deployed about 100 policemen in uniform and in disguise around the SNU hospital. Fearing a potential body snatch, civic group members gathered to resist the police approach.

Moreover, on the day of his death, they immediately positioned 3,600 police forces and blocked the entrance to the hospital as well as to the funeral site. Thousands of citizens came out. They shouted, "No more state violence!" They said they came to protect not only Baek Nam-gi but also democracy. That night, in a press meeting, Doraji cried out to the police, “My family and I want my father to rest in peace. That’s all we are asking for.” 

WHY DID THE OLD FARMER JOIN THE PROTEST

On Nov.14, 2015, various civic groups, labor unions and individual citizens across the country came out to the major streets of central Seoul for an anti-government protest. Mr. Baek joined the rally as a farmer. During the rally, farmers protested against the government’s agricultural policy.

They demanded the government to keep the election promise to guarantee a reasonable price for rice, Korea’s staple crop. During the presidential campaign, Ms. Park, then a presidential candidate, promised to guarantee 210,000 Korean Won (equivalent to US $200) for 80kg  of rice. However, during her presidency, the price actually had fallen from 170,000 Korean Won to 150,000 Won by the time of the rally.  Outraged farmers took it to the street and demanded the governmemt to stop importing rice used for meal purpose. Baek Nam-gi was one of them. That was all.  

Mr. Baek was unarmed. Korean people are denouncing the government for its disproportionate use of police force against citizens. The government is also being criticized for shrinking democratic rights to assemble and protest in the society.