By Lee Kyung-min
Police decided not to seek a new warrant to conduct an autopsy on the body of the late farmer Baek Nam-ki, who died last month after being in a coma for 10 months after a long conflict between his bereaved family members and the authorities. The previous warrant expired on Oct. 25. He was knocked over by a police water cannon last year at a labor rally.
Jongno Police Station recently stated that it dropped the plan to seek a new warrant after consulting with the prosecution.
“Even if we obtain a new warrant, opposition from the family and civic groups are likely to continue, and a violent clash will be inevitable if we forcibly push ahead. The case will be investigated by the prosecution from now on,” it said.
The decision follows two failed attempts to execute the warrant on Oct. 23 and 25. Baek’s family alongside civic groups formed barricades to prevent the police from entering the Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), where Baek’s memorial altar had been set up. Following a standoff, police withdrew.
As a local court issued the warrant on condition that the autopsy could only be conducted if Baek’s family agreed, police sent a total of six letters of request to them. They claimed an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.
However, family members rejected the requests, saying that the authorities plan to misuse the autopsy to divert the cause of his death to something other than the water cannon, allowing police and the Park Geun-hye administration to avoid responsibility for his death.
Meanwhile, Konkuk University professor Lee Yong-sik, who had called for an autopsy, sneaked into the SNUH morgue without permission and was forced out of the place, Sunday.
Lee has sided with police, claiming Baek sustained a brain injury due to an attack by a man wearing a red raincoat shortly after he fell to the ground, not by the police water cannon. The family claims Lee entered the morgue to damage Baek’s body. SNUH is also considering filing a complaint against Lee for trespassing.