Fr. Moon Jung-Hyun (white beard) and Br. Park Do-Hyon, SJ, (yellow shirt), under arrest.
According to the latest update at savejejuisland.org, “Eleven South Korean college students have been beaten and arrested by naval soldiers and police while trying to visit Gureombi Rock”, the landmark site of the strategically provocative Navy base under construction at Gaengjong village on Jeju, South Korea’s Peace Island. “Fifteen people are now in custody. Secret police involvement in surveillance, arrests and brutality have been reported.”
Seven of the fifteen people have been in jail since August 24 or September 2, charged with violating posted orders not to obstruct the commerce of the private construction companies. At least three dozen people were arrested during a series of massive police raids on the village and coastal peace camp on those days, which cleared the contested site for creation of a construction gate.
On September 29, the previously jailed Fr. Moon Jung-Hyun celebrated Catholic Mass at the gate with Fr. Lee Young-Chan, SJ and Brother Park Do-Hyon, SJ. A flatbed truck arrived, blocking the bus that brought the religious demonstrators to the site. From a converted shipping container loaded on the truck, a platoon of police surprisingly emerged, and moved in to arrest the three religious leaders, who were taken to the police station and remain in jail.
MacGregor Eddy has created a slide show introducing the Jeju prisoners and their actions at bit.ly/JejuPrisoners
Names and addresses of the seven Jeju prisoners held since late August and early September, plus others as they become available, are listed here.
For on-going reports on the Jeju resistance, visit and follow the links from www.savejejuisland.org, space4peace.blogspot.com, and nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com