Korea: Falun Gong Practitioners File Criminal Charges Against the Chinese Ambassador, Consul-General, and Consuls

Recently, employees of a Chinese Consulate seized four posters that expose the crimes of Jiang Zemin from Falun Gong practitioners in Seoul. Two of the victims filed charges of theft, property damage, and instigation of business interference against Chinese Ambassador Li Bin and Consul-General Zhang Xing. The police officer who is responsible for this case at ZhongLu Precinct in Seoul said, "This case will be forwarded to the Seoul Municipal Prosecutor's Office."

For years, South Korean Falun Gong practitioners have held peaceful protests outside the Chinese Embassy and Consulates over the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Practitioners also clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the public.

The Chinese Consulate, which has recently moved to the Education & Life Insurance Building in the centre of Seoul, is responsible for granting visas and other affairs. Many Chinese will visit this location, thus it is an important site for truth clarification to the Chinese people. Many people who have visited this Consulate understand that the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's regime is immoral.

At 11 am on September 16, 2003, workers from the Chinese Consulate seized four posters, including one showing a picture of the despot Jiang.

The Falun Dafa Association of South Korea views this as a criminal activity that infringes on South Korea's sovereignty. Therefore, on the evening of September 25, two of the victims filed charges that include robbery, property damage, and instigation of business interference, against Chinese Ambassador Li Bin and Consul-General Zhang Xing. At the same time, the thieves were also included in this charge as major offenders.

Diplomats, as representatives of a sovereign country, are not subject to the jurisdiction of civil and criminal laws under ordinary circumstances. However, this case is an intentional offence that has no bearing on diplomatic affairs. We believe that South Korea has jurisdiction over this criminal act. Therefore, two victims filed the aforementioned charges.

On December 2, 2003, two of the victims filed the charges at the ZhongLu Precinct. The police officer in charge of the case supported the victim's claim and promised that this case would proceed through a fair legal process. Currently, this case is being investigated at the ZhongLu Precinct. Police officers also said, "This case will be submitted to the Seoul Municipal Prosecutor's Office and will be processed under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor."

On October 1, 2003, the Falun Dafa Association of South Korea also sent a formal petition to the Minister of Diplomacy and Trade in accordance with "the Article of Petition". The petition asks the minister to file a strong protest with the Ambassador, expel the offender, and guarantee there will be no similar offences in the future.

The minister of Diplomacy and Trade officially acknowledged this petition on December 8, 2003. The response states, "This case is within the jurisdiction of South Korea and may be handled under the domestic legal process. In spite of the diplomatic status, he is obligated to observe the laws of his duty station. We will ask the Chinese Ambassador to South Korea to take note of the issues that we have raised."

Falun Gong practitioners also sent letters to congressmen in the committee of Diplomacy and Trade in the Parliament and to the chief of the largest Incumbent party. This Incumbent party sent a formal letter to the Minister of Diplomacy and Trade and urged the Ministry to handle fairly the people's petition. This letter also requests that the Ministry inform the Falun Gong Association of the result of their efforts. And the Association has confirmed that a formal document was filed with the minister of diplomacy on October 4, 2003.

At the same time, on September 24, 2003, the Falun Dafa Association of South Korea sent a letter urging Chinese Ambassador Li Bin to stop slandering Falun Gong in South Korea.

There are around 32 reports that slander Falun Dafa on the Chinese Embassy's website. They are to be found under the News and Hot Topic section. These postings severely infringe on the reputation of Falun Dafa and its practitioners and also mislead and poison the minds of many people who do not know the truth.

We regret that such unbecoming behaviour of a representative of a foreign country has lasted this long. In the letter to the Embassy, we seriously asked the Chinese Embassy to immediately delete all those slanderous postings. Sadly, we note that the Chinese Embassy has not responded to our request so far.

Since December 26, 2003, when a suit against Jiang Zemin was filed for crimes of "genocide" with the Seoul Municipal Procuratorate, the website of the Chinese Embassy has been inactive. Without prior notice, all online visa services were stopped.

The Falun Dafa Association of South Korea sincerely declares that we are not against the Chinese government, but against this persecution that was instigated by Jiang Zemin. It asks that the Chinese Embassy in South Korea stop all activities that interfere with Falun Dafa, and that China stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.