By Via Hub of Sparkle comes the story of how Stephannie White, the mother of Michael White who died last year under suspicious circumstances, is trying to get her story reported on CNN:
In South Korea, it was the big Buddha holiday and the sauna was very crowded with patrons enjoying family bathing bonding activities before the main events at temple the next day, which for Americans’ was Mother’s Day.One of the hardest things I ever had to do as a mother was to watch my son die in ER as police worked to cover up this crime. A ludicrous autopsy report was fabricated and disseminated to the public, to ensure that no one would connect the unexplained death of my son to the ongoing Anti-USA Beef Riots which were in their height [iReport]
Here is something that isn’t surprising:
Those early lessons of determination along with my unending love for my son have given me the strength I need to cut through mountains of red tape, cross centuries old cultural barriers fighting for justice for my son’s murder while bringing awareness to conditions in South Korea of those foreign nationals who are victims of crime. All while my own embassy and department of state write condolence letters and repeat there is nothing they can do
Make sure to read the entire article, but the fact the State Department in South Korea is doing next to nothing is typical. Listen to how they talk about two Americans being held hostage by North Korea, do you think they care about the suspicious death of the son of an expat in Korea?
Make sure to read the rest, but the Michael White saga has been the best example of how the Korean police and justice system treats foreigners. For those unfamiliar with the discrimination foreigners receive by both the police and judicial system I highly recommend you read these postings:
- GI Myths: The Unfair US-Korea SOFA
- GI Myths: The 2000 Yongsan Water Dumping Scandal
- GI Myths: The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident
- Sexual Assaults Against Foreigners in Korea
- The SOFA Agreement at Work
- What’s Really Happening In Regards to GI Crime
- You Can Expect A Fair Trial in Kora, Sort of……..
- A Classic Example that Justice for GI’s is Hard to Find
- Another Classic Example that Justice for GI’s is Hard to Find
- Violence Against Foreigners in Hongdae Continues
There is more, but I think this is enough to make my point that often times foreigners receive unfair treatment by Korean police and the judicial system. Unfortunately Stephanie White realizes this all to well. So if you got a blog, Facebook site, or on Twitter link to her iReport article and get is pushed up the most viewed rankings in order to get it featured on CNN.
You can read more over at the webpage set up by Stephanie White. This is just a horrible story and the Korean authorities should be ashamed an embarrassed. Lets hope Stephanie White eventually gets the answers she deserves.
4:40 am on May 10th, 2009 1
It's been awhile since I read the details of Mike's death and the investigations. However, foreigners aren't the only ones who suffer from inadequate and inappropriate medical care. News reports have shown grieving families holding a sit-in at the hospital where a loved one passed away. Lawyer Brendon Carr has clarified many times that weak liability laws do not hold medical personnel accountable for their mistakes.
Likewise, the incompetence and apathy of the police is notorious. They rely on confessions, rather than detective work, to close a case. Winter Raymond's rapist had attacked Korean women previously, and the police got interested only after the rapist killed one of his victims.
Sadly, the only unusual aspect of Mike's case is that he was a foreigner. It's not that foreigners are less likely to get substandard medical care or be victims of violent crime. It's that there are so few of us, when it does happen to one of us, we hear about it.
8:33 am on May 10th, 2009 2
From an email I received from Ms. White the story was among the most-viewed and -shared, but CNN chose not to do a piece on it.
10:09 am on May 10th, 2009 3
That is too bad. I don't understand why they wouldn't want to do a piece on this considering how compelling it is?
10:10 am on May 10th, 2009 4
Sonagi it is more then the poor medical care aspects of this case. There is also the possible criminality of whatever happened at the sauna.
10:37 am on May 10th, 2009 5
I am aware of the possibility that others were involved. That's why I cited police apathy and incompetence, also. A mysterious death of a Korean might be brushed aside the same way. The difference is that a Korean family is more able to fight for justice and closure.
11:13 am on May 10th, 2009 6
The original article she posted was pulled after a day for some reason. I don't know why CNN chose not to do anything with it. It might have something to do with it having happened a half a world a way, and there's nobody who can investigate it. I might try writing something up for . . . something, somewhere, just to get the word out about these expat deaths that are going uninvestigated with the families getting jerked around. It may happen to Koreans, too—probably does—but that doesn't make it any less troubling for foreigners.
2:36 am on May 11th, 2009 7
Foreigners are not supposed to die mysteriously in Korea.
This proves he was murdered by a Korean.
6:52 pm on May 15th, 2009 8
This is Mike's mom, Stephannie.
First, I'd like to thank the ROK Drop for carrying the story and for all the GIs who have sent messages via the civilians at church. The divide between the ESL teachers' world & that of the military seems to be quite wide at times, but we are all here on 'tour' together facing challenges, cultural and racial, while we serve here, whether in the classroom or at a post. Thank you for caring and thank you for the hands of help offered.
Sonagi, Koreans do have a better chance at getting justice for a wrongful death or murder, but keep in mind that the cultural interpretations of "justice" and "closure" are very different than the standard American view.
What has been explained to me, and by no means am I an expert on Korean law, so take this with a HUGE grain of salt. (or a sparkle of salt if you will) The definition of murder here is quite broad. There is just 'murder' and 'unfortunate accidents'(UA). There are no manslaughter, 3rd degree, 2nd degree catagories for unnatural deaths.
The standard 'closure' for a Korean's UA is 50 million won. Roughly 35,000 US$ currently. If someone representing the perp. informs the police that they are 'mediating' with the family of the victim, then the police will not investigate because in their eyes, the social norms are taking care of the problem. The police will actually oversee the transfer of funds from the perp. to the victim's family.
The mediator recieves a 10-20% commission for their service, paid by the perp.
In Mike's case, there's a little twist most dont know about. I work at Yeungnam University. A Korean co-worker fresh from 30 years living as an exile in the USA arrived and was assigned to be my office mate march 2008. She is literally covered in tattoos, is a tattoo artist and bears two blue dots under her right eye. When I protested, I was told I was the nicest in the office & I should help her out. Harmony in the office = continued employment. I have a tattoo, my son got one for his 13th b-day in Thailand, and I plan to get another. But not any with gang affiliation, ya get me?
When I and my friend arrived outside the sauna at the ambulance, I climbed in and sat at Mike's head and began giving breath (I was stopped by the EMT but that's another sad aside) The ambulance refused to take us to hospital until I had a translator who could assure them of payment/insurance. I gave my cell to my friend so she could call a Korean. The tattooed co-worker was the only Korean to answer my cell phone on the night Mike was murdered. At the hospital, she exchanged information with the sauna manager.
On May 11, 2008 (Mother's Day) the tattooed co-worker tried to arrange for reps of the sauna to come to my apartment to "help with closure". I refused to let them in my apt.
This was the co-worker sent to represent me to the police, as my supervisor was 'too busy' that day. (May 13, 2008) I protested and tried to reschedule the police appointment but no one listened. I was 3 days into mourning fast and still in shock. I was easy to manipulate in that first week. She recieved funds on that day, as she gave her bankbook to the police to photocopy and they discussed the amount she would get that day.
On May 16, I had an appointment with a local Daegu lawyer who would represent me 'pro bono'. He offered me, enough to cover funeral expenses and relocation funds back to my hometown with a promise to 'buy a house' for me up to 200 million won. But I had to leave Korea immediately. By this time I was 7 days into mourning fast, but deep anger had set in. When I told my 'probono' lawyer I wouldnt settle out of court & I'd prefer the 5 million won award from a criminal trial, I was ushered from his office within 5 minutes & the door hit my bum on the way out.
The point of this tirade? The police can claim 'innocence' because they thought social norms were going to be followed therefore there was no need to investigate. Because I wouldn't play ball, I'm painted as the greedy foreigner who wants more than what was offered. No Korean will blame the police for failure to investigate, only me for not being a 'good foreigner' and embracing Korean 'closure'.
Brian, the original article on CNN was pulled by 'technical error'. thats the best answer I could get from the tech staff at ireport.com
here's a link to photos taken of the sauna on April 3 2009 and May 10, 2008. There are also graphic photos, discretion is advised.
http://picasaweb.google.com/truthaboutmightiemike…
The Judges (3) felt there were enough discrepancies within the police report to schedule a tour of the sauna on April 3, 2009. Since my son's death is listed as the men's side in the sauna, I asked for 30 minutes after the tour for prayers (southern us culture…note roadside crosses). I was told to mourn Korean style instead.
8:43 pm on May 15th, 2009 9
VERY interesting details about Korean-style closure, Stephannie. Thank you for clarifying. It has been claimed that Japan has a higher murder rate than what the statistics show because many murders are filed by the police as suicides. I wonder if some murders are classified as UAs to keep the crime rate low and make less work for the police.
9:23 pm on May 15th, 2009 10
Dont EVEN get me started there~! Not only are murders filed as UA, but as suicides here as well.
Note Korea Beat carried a translation of an article about American T, found in his apartment on June 20, 2008.
[http://koreabeat.com/?p=1143]
The US DOS has him listed as a suicide June 13, 2008, which was the last day anyone at his hogwan had seen him.
Interesting aspects of his case:
1) no suicide note was found
2) when a school owns your apartment, they also have a key to your apartment, dont kid yourself, they do. Along with the landlord. (advice, change the lock, pay the 200.000 won at the EMART digital lock stand, they will come & install-NEVER give a key or key code to your boss or NET's)
3) Even in a large university setting, a missing teacher is something to be noticed and parents to complain about. In a small hogwan, this could mean financial disaster. I can not imagine that the director or head NET didn't go and check his apartment for a midnight runner his first missed day at work, especially if they tried to reach him by phone to yell, "why aren't you doing your pronunciation monkey dance?" Parents would definately be asking questions by day two that the teacher was missing. But to go for an entire week and not check the apartment? not normal hogwan director MO.
4) somone claiming to know the victim went on Dave's ESL and said he knew the guy to be a loner and that he knew the neighborhood American T lived in and it was a 'safe place'.
5) after having dealt with the forensics culture here, I seriously doubt an autopsy was done.
If the director offered to pay for the funeral expenses (sending the body home) the police would have been satisfied that social norms had been met, especially if no family member were there to cause alarm that the rest of the world might see.
Many schools carry insurance on their teachers. the insurance isn't life insurance exactly, its insurance against your ability to teach for the length of your contract.
If a teacher pulls a midnight runner, the school doesn't get much of a payout becuase its assumed that the school had done something to make the teacher leave.
If the teacher is killed in a UA, than the school is compensated for the loss of their teaching ability for the remaining time on the contract.
Under our visas, our employer is responsibile for our safety and well-being. If a foreign english teacher (FET) is a victim of a crime, the employer is only required to assist them in reporting the crime if it impairs their teaching ability. So a rape victim whose face wasn't bruised would be expected to still be able to teach. If its a mugging or assault that again doesn't impair the ability to teach (being able to write on the board, grade papers, or show your face) then they dont have to help.
Often the police will not accept a report from a foreigner without their employer being present. So, even having a Korean friend helpout will not get the desired results. instead the employer is likely to get a call from the cops complaining that they need to teach their FET correct behavior because they're at the police station without permission/attempting to file a false report/being disruptive.
Getting angry can be a bad move. I personally know of two incidents where FET ended up in mental institutes on drugs against their will for 'acting crazy' in front of police. One died while under police custody in a mental facility.
And this is just the tip of the iceburg when you live off base & out of the diplomats bubble.
9:26 pm on May 15th, 2009 11
This might provide a clue
[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-korea-brand3-2009may03,0,3764471.story]
4:18 am on May 16th, 2009 12
Stef.
First your timeline is all fuzzy. Any CSI who knows their stuff smells something funny.
Don't attack, but get a timeline that people can belive.
4:22 am on May 16th, 2009 13
9:45 leave for Sauna
10:00 arrive at Sauna, pay & go to seperate floors
11:02 sauna employee sees Mike floating face down in pool, thinks he is "playing or bathing"
11:28 cleaning crew call 119 to remove body from pool
11:45 Mother is notified in women's side
11:47 Mother calls son's cell phone, no answer
11:56 arrive at hospital
12:10 pronounced DOA
4:51 am on May 16th, 2009 14
could you try to be a bit more specific?
May 10, 2008 119 EMT sent to the R ??? were not certified for CPR, only certified for chest compressions. According to the 119 EMT standard, a CPR certified EMT must accompany the ambulance on all calls. Yes, that's right, CPR is the top notch for EMT certification here.
May 10, 2008 police photograph remains at Taekyoung Hospital then go to R??? and photo the 'hidden pool'.
Autopsy done May 13, 2008 at 11:30 am in Ulsan, by Dr. Lee Sang Yong. No scales in examination room.
not the stand on the scale kind nor the animal weighing kind you see on farms or at the vet.
Dr. Lee Sang Yong at 12:45 gives an oral report to mother saying he recommends the events leading up to his death be investigated.
Police report given May 13, 2008 at Gyeongsan police station at 4:30pm to inspector Park.
May 23, 2008 Chosun Ibo, Dr. Huir announced to press no evidence of coughing or retching, to support 'sudden heart stoppage' theory.
June 3, 2008 First Autopsy report written by Dr. Huir of Busan Medical (not by the actual examiner, Dr. Lee Sang Yong in ULSAN Hospital) is given to the police.
June 10, 2008 it is reported in the press (English & Korean morning papers) 4:00pm mother is given a copy at her lawyer's request. Autopsy and press reveal Reye's Syndrome, congenital liver disease, overuse of antibiotics and hardening of the arteries. Evidence that tissue at the back of his mouth, trachea & bronci were torn from violent convulsions caused by coughing & retching were crouched in complex medical terms. No drugs or alcohol were found among his possessions or his body fluids/samples. (Drug and alcohol tests were done by the National Institute for Scientific Investigation, Korea's CSI)
June 18, 2008 civil suit is filed against Sauna, 119 service, hospital & inspection dept in charge of safety and health standards.
July 15, 2008 Mike's remains are moved from Gyeongsan SeoMyung Hospital (by this time Teakyoung has changed it's name to SeoMyung) to SunChunhung Hospital in Seoul, a 5 hour drive on which the mother must accompany the remains. what fun~!
August 2, 2008 mother visits Dr. Lee YoonSeong (Seoul National University) to pursuade him to do the second review. He already has the slides & photos from first autopsy review. Dr. Lee YoonSeong immediately states he will no examine any criminal forensics, even though that was not the request of the mother. She simply wanted to rule out Reye's Syndrome, a congenital liver disease and hardening of the arteries.
August 19, 2008 Dr. Lee YoonSeong completes his second review and finds no evidence of Reye's Syndrome, congenital liver disease, only the slightest of arteries hardening, yet not enough to consider Mike at risk for heart disease and no evidence of overuse of antibiotics. He does open the door of possibility for more tests to be conducted by the NISI.
August 19-28, 2008 US embassy and lawyer repeatedly ask for the Chief of Police in Gyeongsan to request further testing by NISI.
August 28, 2008 Mother runs out of money & has remains cremated. Slides, samples, photos etc are kept on file for 5 years, from date of first autopsy.
Feb, 12 2009 preliminary hearing for court case
Judge rules sauna staff must testify, color photos of the sauna and Mike's remains must be made available and a "spot inspection of the sauna" due to discrepancies in the report. (not autopsy materials/photos, we're still trying to get those)
April 3, 2009, tour of sauna takes place
http://picasaweb.google.com/truthaboutmightiemike…
April 7, 2009, First day of court. Judges accept mother's 'line of sight' vector (see above link), court rescheduled to May 26, 2009 as sauna staff again fail to present themselves before the court.
April 10, 2009 color police photos are finally made available (photos taken May 10, 2008, not autopsy materials/photos which are still on request)
anything else?
12:23 pm on May 16th, 2009 15
Stephannie thanks for posting more details about this tragic case. Extremely interesting and disturbing these details. I listened to you on the Seoul Podcast as well:
http://www.seoulpodcast.com/archives/364
I highly recommend everyone listen to this podcast because it provides details about not only this case but about other suspicious deaths of foreigners in Korea as well.
These suspicious deaths of foreigners in Korea just seems like a book or a major newspaper article just waiting to be written.
12:40 pm on May 16th, 2009 16
I don't think three cases could fill a book unless the cases were highly unusual and developed over a period of time. I do think the issue of unexplained deaths in Korea is worth a story in the national media because they highlight differences in judicial systems between the two countries. The Korean media does take up the cause of its nationals overseas who appear to be victims of a miscarriage of justice. One example that immediately comes to mind is the case of the Korean woman charged with manslaughter after her child climbed into a dresser drawer, causing a TV set on top of the dresser to tip over on the child and kill him or her.
The KT prints Onionish satirical letters to the editor but can't find space to inform foreigners of important aspects of Korea's judicial system through real-life examples like that of Stephannie's son.
8:34 pm on May 16th, 2009 17
Another reason to stay alert and "out of condition WHITE" over here.
Mom, my heart goes out to you. LOTS here doesn't add up- and it makes me mad as hell.
9:37 pm on May 16th, 2009 18
Thank you Junior~ I'm mad as hell too, and getting madder
GI Korea & Sonagi, there might be enough for a book when you add in David Gearson, Matthew Sellers, Bill Kapoun, Nerine Viljeon, American "T", Jamie Penich, Beau Smith and Scott James Kennedy. And there are dozens more, I just dont know enough about them.
there is no systematic database that collects information on human rights violations across the various nationalities represented among the foreign workforce here in Korea. Until there's some sort of data collection on a consistant basis, these are all just 'unfortunate accidents'.
As long as the international commuity, media & foreign nationals in general, cater to South Korea's face saving antics, there will never be enough awareness and support for such a data collection project.
3:27 pm on June 22nd, 2009 19
I am the mother of William Kapoun, who died on March 8, 2008 in Seoul. The Korean police would not release his body to us unless we signed away all rights to an investigation. The fire which caused his death was very mysterious – a unknown flammable liquid which was UNDER his couch at midnight. There was rumor, even in the Korean press, that it was arson. His fiancee, Sejin, also died as a result of this fire – and the Korean press was reluctant to report that anyone else was involved other than our son. The US Embassy was useless to us. We begged for translation assistance for the two weeks our son lay dying – to no avail. The only time they made their presence known was to accompany us to his burned-out apartment. We truly believe that was only to make sure there was nothing incriminating there, and to see that we didn't remove anything without their supervision. Our story received alot of coverage over the internet – none from American press.
12:32 pm on June 23rd, 2009 20
I'd be happy to speak with you. I went to your website and left my number.
5:45 pm on June 23rd, 2009 21
I’m the mother of Mike White. I’m breifly in the US, I would like to contact you if I may. Click on my website link & send me an email if you’re comfortable talking about things.