Family wins payout for SKorean protester killed by police

18 November 2008

Family wins payout for SKorean protester killed by police

SEOUL (AFP) - A South Korean court ruled Tuesday that the government should compensate the family of a farmer who was fatally injured by police during a protest against free trade.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered the payment of 130 million won (91,485 dollars) in compensation to the family of Jeon Yong-Cheol.

Jeon, 46, died of a brain haemorrhage after he was seriously beaten by riot police during a November 2005 protest by farmers against the opening of South Korea's rice market.

The National Human Rights Commission concluded after an investigation that police used excessive force.

Jeon was one of two protesters fatally injured by police that month while two others committed suicide to protest at the rice market opening.

The protest deaths prompted the police chief to step down and the then-President Roh Moo-Hyun to deliver a public apology.

South Korean farmers have staged frequent protests in recent years against free trade pacts which they fear will hurt their protected occupation. Several have ended in bloody clashes.