On April 18, the surviving family members of victims of the Sewol Ferry incident held a rally at Gwanghwamun Plaza to carry out a memorial ceremony. The goal of the rally was to call upon the government to withdraw their new enforcement
ordinance and to cherish the memories of the deceased. They insisted that the new government’s enforcement ordinance regarding the accident was the biggest barricade against clarification of the truth and appropriate compensation for bereaved families. They strongly criticized the government’s unacceptable behavior of influencing the activity of a select committee of inquiry.
Day 18, 3:31 p.m. - Police arrested surviving family members who were participating in a sit-in demonstration. The police arrested 10 of the bereaved relatives taking part in a pan-national rally on the first anniversary of the Sewol
Ferry disaster. One person was sent to hospital as a result of their clash with the police as they tried to approach the incense altar of Gwanghwamun Gate.
Day 18, 5:00 p.m. - 30,000 citizens halted their demonstrations in front of the pan-national assembly and moved to Gwanghwamun Plaza.
Seoul plaza was crowded with citizens however the rally began to fizzle out after 40 minutes when news that the police were arresting bereaved family members reached the crowd. Then citizens who participated in the assembly demonstration
moved to Gwanghwamun Plaza where the bereaved family members were holding a sit-down demonstration. The police blocked off street access using buses and carrying shields. Nevertheless, citizens pressed on towards to Gwanghwamun Plaza
from Seoul Plaza where they eventually clashed with police. Day 18, 7:26 p.m. - The police arrested 22 of the bereaved family members and rally participants. Police suppressed crowds by deploying water cannons and pepper spray.
All routes to Gwanghwamun Plaza were totally blocked by police. Around 13,000 police and 470 police buses were deployed to block any attempts to stage a rally. Moreover, the police deployed a water cannon and pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the estimated 30,000 participants who took to the streets to demonstrate against the government's handling of the tragedy.
Day 18, 10:07 p.m. - Citizens were blocked by police barricades while officers continued using water cannons and pepper spray.
Police officers sprayed water to disperse participants at the rally to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sewol Ferry sinking. 80 citizens and 20 surviving family members were arrested during the events. Citizens were calling for the ship to be raised and the remaining bodies be recovered.
Day 10, 12:41 p.m. - The police barrier collapsed after 4 hours of violent confrontation.
Finally, the barrier crumbled and protesters were able to join the bereaved families who were isolated in Gwanghwamun. To investigate what really happened at Gwanghwamun Plaza and other events not covered by the news, The Dankook
Herald (DKH) interviewed Kim Jong-gi (50), one of the bereaved family members that took part in the sit in. The DKH asked him about the basic purpose of the ceremony and the cause of the clash between families and the police. He replied
“our fundamental purpose of meeting at Gwanghwamun Plaza was the memorial ceremony itself. We planned to carry out our ceremony at City Hall Square and move on later to Gwanghwamun Plaza to burn incense at the alter. We conveyed our plan to the police. However, they didn’t answer our proposal and instead installed a wall of police cars to stop us from marching to Gwanghwamun Plaza.”
The DKH asked about what really happened at the rally that brought about the arrests. “The police insisted on the news that the bereaved families were committing illegal activities and that they were very aggressive. However this is not true. We tried to hold our memorial ceremony in a peaceful manner but the police tried to block us using aggressive methods such as riot shields and police sticks against unarmed civilians. This is the truth about the clash that the media didn’t cover,” he said.
Moreover, the DKH asked him how families were feeling after police took some of them to the police station. He stated “families who were arrested were held till late at night. However, the executives of police didn’t say a word or provide any
explanation for why they were arrested. The police are still responding to our inquiries with silence.”
The memorial rally, organized by victims’ families, was the largest in recent weeks and marked a year since the Sewol Ferry capsized after making a dangerous sharp turn. There were many illegal acts that were carried out by police in order to disperse participants for so-called aggressive and illegal activities, a charge that many deny. After escalating the problems even further, the next step from the government will ultimately decide the shape of any future relationship between the two sides.
Kang Da-yon, Park Seh-hoon dkherald@hotmail.com