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POLITICAL OVERVIEW

The EFFT's task was to assess the present socio-economic and political situation in Korea in reference to violations of basic human rights. It is therefore appropriate to recapitulate briefly the events after the 1980 coup d'etat. Immediately after President Chun Doo Hwan took over power in the wake of Kwangju massacre, the repression became very brutal and more severe particularly on students, workers and peasants. The fundamental rights pertaining to free press, assembly and dissent were throttled. Student and labour unions were disbanded and leaders sent to detention camps. Re-education camps for so called ideological purification

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were set up. New labour legislation was passed making repression more systematic. Thus, labour activities were made virtually impossible. Strict governmental control made it difficult for the federation of workers, peasants, farmers and the churches to intervene on behalf of the victims. Challenge in any form to government authority led to immediate arrest and indictment. The policy of harsh reprisals against students, workers, peasants and political dissidents for voicing their grievances and concern earned the government bad publicity abroad at a time when it was eager to portray a liberal image. In order to rehabilitate its image abroad the regime embarked in December 1983 on a well publicised so called 'policy of liberalisation', a soft line approach towards its opponents. Amnesty was granted and large number of students and professors who were formerly expelled were reinstated. However, in actual practise there was no change and now the situation remains the same. There has been considerable increase of instances of direct violence using varied methods and tactics. For example,

(a) The strength of tear gas and the frequency of its use are increased.

(b) Use of brutal force to disperse peaceful assemblies, even on female students, is quite common.

(c) Indiscriminate checking of people in the streets is increased. (The EFFT was a witness to such instances of checking)

(d) Violence is institutionalized through the introduction of the Campus Stabilization Law.

(e) Ideological violence in the form of red scare is employed to isolate the students.

(f) The provisions of summary sentencing are frequently used.

It will thus be seen that the so-called liberalisation policy is a facade put up by the military dictatorship in Korea for public consumption in the west, particularly in the United States, on which the dictatorship relies heavily for both military and economic aid. In actual practise the regime has embarked on a systematic process to crush the people, particularly the students, workers, peasants and political dissidents, some of whom have been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment by courts which no longer function independently but are under great pressure from the executive.