◀ Women representatives from North and
South Korea at the opening ceremony of the Reunification Women's
Rally walk together to hoist the Korean Peninsula flag. <photograph
courtesy of Tongil News>
350 South Korean women and 300 North Korean women gathered
at Mt. Kumkang from October 16 to 17 for the 'North and South
Korea Reunification Women's Rally for the Realization of the
June 15 Joint Declaration and Peace.'
For two days, the participants broke down the wall of unfamiliarity
bred by 57 years of separation through a variety of activities
including the 'Forum for the realization of the June 15 Joint
Declaration and Peace,' section talks, joint art concert,
entertainment and games, handicraft and art exhibition. Through
this event, the women of the two Koreas pledged to go beyond
confidence building and mutual understanding to open the era
of actual exchanges and cooperation based on mutual interest.
Mt. Kumkang = Reported by Shin Min-Kyung
minks02@womennews.co.kr
- A variety of political experimentation through the Internet
in progress
Internet power house Korea has finally set its e-foot in
the domain of politics. There is no denying that the most
prominent trend in the 2002 presidential election is the online
organization of voters. Starting with presidential candidate
Roh Mu Hyun's fan club 'Nosamo' that showed its power in the
party candidate election, online political organizations such
as the online political party Jeong Jeong Dang Dang (meaning
'fair and square') and 2030 Voters' Network all organize their
members and carry out activities through the Internet. These
organizations are particularly effective in drawing into the
voters' movement people who can easily become politically
disinterested, such as young people in their twenties and
thirties as well as women. The methods used are diverse and
experimental, and there is mounting interest in whether this
kind of political experimentation will pave the way for a
new prototype of participation in the presidential elections
of the 21st century, an era of networking.
The 2030 Voters' Network (www.votefestival.org) that was
launched in October 22 aims to reflect the political demands
of the young generation in the election through policy recommendations
by young workers and university student voters. Not only that,
the Network has ambitiously set its sights on completely transforming
the negative image of elections mired in bribery and cliques.
The Network, consisting of groups such as the Korea Youth
Buddhist Association, Evangelical Youth Council, Jeong Jeong
Dang Dang and Headquarters for Campus Journalists, is working
especially hard to get people in their twenties and thirties
across the nation to vote. To this end, the Network is planning
a campaign to get 1 million young people to pledge that they
will vote, with the eye-catching slogan "Running out
of bad words? Then VOTE!"
The campaign to get involved in the presidential election,
organized by Internet users, is spreading far and wide as
countless unorganized voters start to realize that it is time
for them to show their power and will through their votes.
The campaign leaders are also planning to "make the election
a festival of communication" in order to overcome the
political apathy of the young generation. In line with this
motive, they are planning to hold a culture festival entitled
'Vote Festival' on November 30, with appearances by celebrities
who have pledged to vote such as Yoon Do Hyun and Jang Na
Ra. It is a typically youthful idea created in the effort
to make politics a part of daily life.
These people form an even wider solidarity in the form of
an independent organization called the 2002 Presidential Election
Voters' Alliance, made up of more than 300 civic and social
groups. Numerous experts anticipate sweeping changes in the
presidential election landscape depending on the activities
of the young people in their twenties and thirties, since
they account for half the voting public. Experts also forecast
that the diverse political experiments that the young generation
is engaging in through the Internet will have a big influence
on the presidential election.
A prime example is the political experiment of Jeong Jeong
Dang Dang (www.jjdd.or.kr), the Internet political party under
the 2030 Voters' Network. Jeong Jeong Dang Dang's public relations
director Jeong Cheong Rae said on September 15 at the inauguration
of the party, "The most attractive factors of an Internet
political party are the low-cost high-efficiency mechanism
for opinion gathering, unfettered discussions and easy access."
Jeong went on to promise to "create a new space for political
participation for the people of today." Launched with
the idea of approaching politics the fun way, Jeong Jeong
Dang Dang may be registered as a civic group, but on the Internet,
it operates as a political party in every way. This is because
it has a clear goal. Its strategic goal is to establish a
citizens' network for politics in daily life, thereby organizing
the power of Internet users. It intends to remain on neutral
ground during the presidential election, like a cheerleader
team such as the Red Devils. Explains Jeong, "We set
such goals because like Nosamo or the Red Devils, both successful
models of movement organization of the 21st century, an Internet
base and free discussion through it have become an indispensable
condition for any movement or organization."
Unlike Jeong Jeong Dang Dang, the Reform People's Party that
launched its founding preparatory committee on October 20
has announced that it will elect its own candidate to actually
run in the presidential elections based on the Political Party
Act, thereby going one step further than Jeong Jeong Dang
Dang.
Cho Seong Rae, former Chair of the Busan Lawyers' Society
and currently heading the Reform People's Party founding preparatory
committee, declared a policy merge between the Reform People's
Party and presidential candidate Roh Mu Hyun during the committee
launching. Cho appealed, "It's such a pity that our party
does not have a candidate of our own, but let's pool our strength
to support candidate Roh, whose policies are geared in the
same direction as ours, so that he will become the president
of the ordinary people." The policy merge with candidate
Roh was decided by a general vote that all the founding members
of the Reform People's Party took part in from October 12
to 18 through the Internet and mobile communications. The
Party appointed former Korea Women's Hotline president Son
Lee Duk-Su, first Korea Teachers and Workers Union president
Yoon Young Gyu, former Korea Farmers' League chairman Lee
Su Geum and former Busan Lawyers' Society chairman Cho Seong
Rae as the co-chairs of the founding preparatory committee.
Planning to launch the party around mid-November, the Reform
People's Party has managed to expand the Internet community
Nosamo into the offline world, establishing an organized framework
for solidarity. There is active solidarity among regions,
genders and sectors as well.
The Korea Women's Association United (KWAU), considered the
progressive camp for women groups, launched the '2002 Presidential
Election Women's Alliance' on October 25, together with more
than a hundred member organizations nationwide including Womenlink
Korea and Korea Women's Hotline. KWAU launched the Alliance
because there are hardly any campaign policies for women in
the presidential election, despite the fact that there are
more female than male voters. The Alliance has chosen three
core women's issues, namely the abolishment of the hoju system,
employment stability and job creation, and the establishment
of public childcare systems. Based on these three issues,
the Alliance is planning campaigns such as calling on presidential
candidates to include these issues in their campaign pledges
and comparing and examining candidates' qualities and so on.
The Alliance will also mobilize supporters among citizens
who agree with the three issues, in order to conduct online
campaigns encouraging people to vote and to look out for gender-equal
candidates.
There is active solidarity in the local regions as well. The
2002 Daegu Citizens' Alliance for True Media (co-representatives
Yeom Mu Woong, Choi Byeong Du, Bae Han Dong), launched on
October 21, defined the upcoming presidential election as
the period of the emergence of the low-cost high-efficiency
media elections, and thus declared that it will concentrate
on organizing citizens, the consumers of the media. This Alliance
will be carrying out its activities through Ohmynews, an online
media.
Recent surveys have shown that Internet media such as Ohmynews,
Daum Communications and Yahoo! have emerged as influential
media. As Internet gatherings and communities based on free
online discussions transform into organized alliances, many
people are watching the developments of the diverse experiments
that young Internet users are engaging in. Of particular interest
is whether this new trend will encourage young women to take
an interest in politics.
It is important for a player to concentrate on playing a good
game, but it is just as important to organize the majority
of the citizens to applaud and cheer the players. The fresh
ideas created by the young generation born in the Internet
age are completely different from the conventional politics
of changing alignments. And that is why we have hope.
<reported by Kim Kyung-hye musou21@womennews.co.kr>
"If a sexual violence case becomes known to outsiders
in the process of the victim seeking help from those around
her and women groups to solve her problems, this cannot be
considered defamation as the victim did not intentionally
defame the character of the violator." (Park Seon Young,
Research Professor, College of Law, Seoul National University)
On October 22, the Women's Rights Committee of the Lawyers
for a Democratic Society, the Committee for Countermeasures
against Counter-Lawsuits by Perpetrators of Sexual Violence
and the Committee to Deal with Libel Suits against the Anti-Sexual
Violence Campaigns organized a forum titled 'The problem with
libel suits by sexual violence perpetrators.' At the forum,
Professor Park Seon Young revealed that in the recent string
of counter-lawsuits filed by perpetrators for defamation,
the defendants are not guilty.
As long as it can be proven that the actions taken by the
victim, her friends and family, civic groups and the media
to publicize the case bear 'public benefits,' factual truth'
and 'appropriate grounds,' then the actions cannot be considered
defamation of character. According to Professor Park, exposing
the sexual violence crimes of influential people such as governors,
professors and unionists bears sufficient 'public benefits'
as such action becomes important material in criticizing or
assessing the leaders of society.
Actions such as putting up wall posters on the campus or at
the workplace to diagnose problems and search for solutions
are also 'publicly beneficial,' since the relationship between
the victim and perpetrator of sexual violence is a superior-subordinate
or power relationship and the action was taken to point out
a structural problem and establish healthy gender awareness.
Furthermore, if a civic group intervenes in a sexual violence
case or a media reports the case based on the victim's statement
and the actual circumstances, they cannot be charged with
defamation as they had 'appropriate grounds' to believe that
the case was true, even if they did not have direct material
evidence. Park emphasized, "In a situation where it is
usually impossible to provide material evidence, the victim
risks all sorts of censure and danger to reveal their case.
Joining hands with such victims and putting their cases on
the social agenda is the very reason civic groups and the
media exist."
Regarding the case where a stalker filed a libel suit against
his victim for publicizing the judge's decision on a women
group's website, Park said, "The women group did not
have any intention to slander the stalker, and it was not
misappropriating another person's name, photograph or telephone
number but simply posting an official document on its website.
Thus the group cannot be guilty of 'cyber defamation.'"
Park went on to say, "The recent counter-lawsuits filed
by perpetrators of sexual violence against the victims, civic
groups or the media for defamation or false accusations must
be suppressed, as they are filed with the bad intention of
continuously harassing the victim in the name of law. Furthermore,
the victims should be given compensation for being unjustly
accused."
It follows that cases where professors facing disciplinary
action in their universities or perpetrators found guilty
by the courts file lawsuits against their victims, as well
as the case where a poet filed a libel suit against The Women's
News for criticizing the backward gender awareness of men
in the literary circle, would all fall into the category of
'unjust accusations.'
<reported by Cho Lee Yeo-wool cognate@womennews.co.kr>
- Citizens unhindered by diplomatic concerns should take the
lead
The class action suit against Japan by Koreans who had been
forced to join the military or work as comfort women that
is taking place in the US will be able to expand its scope
now that it is getting regular funding.
The funding for the lawsuit comes from representative Son
Ju Eun of Megastudy (www.megastudy.net) who donated the funds
in the form of a trust with the Beautiful Foundation. Starting
with 35 million Won this year, the trust will reach 100 million
Won in three years' time. The Beautiful Foundation held a
ceremony in its meeting room on October 23 to relay the funds
to Chairman Jeong Yeon Jin of the Committee to Restore Justice,
the American civic group that is in charge of the lawsuit.
At the hand-over ceremony, representative Son said, "I
set up the trust to carry on the spirit of my maternal grandfather
Choi Dal Seok, a pastor who had courageously fought against
Japan's order to bow at the altar of Shintoism. I am gratified
that the funds will be used for the meaningful cause of rectifying
distorted history." Chairman Jeong Yeon Jin said, "The
victims have suffered from historical wrongdoings for half
a century, and so it's the state that should be funding the
case. Thus it is with mixed feelings that I accept this civilian
funding." To which representative Son responded, "If
the government maintains a lukewarm attitude because of diplomatic
concerns, then citizens unhindered by such concerns should
take the lead." Son went on to express the hope that
her donation will become seed money for continued fund-raising
among citizens.
The class action suit against Japan, initiated by Korean Americans,
has been filed in the State of California based on its State
Tort Liability Act, and is aimed at putting international
pressure on Japanese corporations and the Japanese government,
leaving them no choice but to offer compensation and public
apology. Lawsuits in the US take the form of class action
suits, which is very significant as it means that if the plaintiffs
win the case, the court decision applies not just to the plaintiffs
but to all the victims in Korea. The lawsuits currently filed
in the US are the suit in California against three Japanese
companies (Odona Cement/currently Taiheyo Cement, Mitsubishi
and Mitsui) for forced military drafting and the suit in Washington
DC against the Japanese government (plaintiffs from Korea,
China, Taiwan and the Philippines) for sexual slavery.
<reported by Lee Jung-joo jena21@womennews.co.kr>
(The Women's News http://www.womennews.co.kr)
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