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| Government officials and citizens attend the ceremony at the former anti-communism investigation division office of the police's National Security Bureau in Namyeong-dong, central Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-heun
A former police investigation building in Namyeong-dong, Seoul, where officers tortured hundreds of pro-democracy activists in the 1970s and 1980s, has been turned into a memorial hall for human rights and democracy.
The police, Wednesday, turned over their ownership of the former "Namyeong-dong anti-communist room," which had been used as its own human rights center since 2005, to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to make better use of it as a memorial hall.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon participated in the transfer ceremony, along with Minister of the Interior and Safety Kim Boo-kyum and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
"I can hear the screams and moans of deceased activists who were abused by the state authority. We will remember that we are enjoying our freedom because of their devotion to create today's democratic Korea," Lee said. "The memorial hall will forever contribute to the people and history as a place to warn against the state's abuse of power."
Korean National Police Agency Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong also attended the ceremony together with 150 victims of torture and bereaved families.
"I sincerely apologize for our painful history as a representative of 150,000 police officers across the nation for the tragic event. As a venue of the police's disgraceful history is turning into a center of human rights, we will take this opportunity to become the police of democracy, human rights and public welfare," Min said.
The former police facility was used secretly during the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan administrations to interrogate and torture pro-democracy activists under the name of hunting down communists.
The site become notorious among local residents as many testified they heard people screaming at night and there were stories of people disappearing once they were taken into the building.
The police facility was soon revealed as an illegal torture site when Seoul National University student Park Jong-chul was killed during water torture on Jan. 14, 1987. Police insisted they only slammed the desk and Park suddenly died of shock.
His death became a fuse for the pro-democracy protest on June 10, 1987.
The event played a pivotal role in ending Chun's military regime and bringing out a historic constitutional amendment allowing a direct presidential election system here.
The torture victims and bereaved families have requested the governments turn the old police building into a memorial hall where people can be educated about democracy and human rights.
In 2005, the police turned it into a human rights center, commemorating student Park and making it a historical museum. However, civic groups said it was improper for the police, which tortured and abused the activists with their own hands, to operate the center.
President Moon Jae-in accepted their argument earlier this year and promised to turn over the building's ownership to the ministry in his speech at the 31st anniversary of the June 10 pro-democracy movement.
"The government will cooperate with pro-democracy activists, torture survivors and human right groups to rebuild this venue as a memorial hall," Moon said at the time.
The ministry will outsource its operation to the Korea Democracy Foundation early next year.
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