hankyoreh

the SNU emeritus professor of forensic medicine who led the reinvestigation into the death of democracy activist Chang Chun-ha

By Park kyung-man, north Gyeonggi correspondent

A forensic pathologist released a report stating that a close examination of the remains of democracy activist Chang Chun-ha showed he died of blunt trauma to the head.

Chang, who waged a campaign against the Park Chung-hee dictatorship in the 1970s, was found dead at Yaksa Peak in Pocheon, Gyeonggi province, in 1975. At the time, the government ruled his death to be the result of a fall.

The original conclusion was based on simple inspection of Chang’s body, without a formal autopsy being conducted. In contrast, the recent analysis was based on cranial section and CT scans, with experts taking part from the forensic medicine, orthopedic surgery, and radiology departments at Seoul National University (SNU).

The Park Chung-hee administration rushed to its conclusion that Chang slipped and fell based on accounts from people who claimed to have witnessed the accident. But many harbored suspicions over the years that the administration arranged the “accident,” citing the fact that Chang was supposedly descending a cliff without any hiking equipment, and his body showed no exterior trauma other than to this head.

Lee Jung-bin, the SNU emeritus professor of forensic medicine who led the examination, announced the findings on Mar. 26 during a public briefing at the main auditorium of the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul.

“Examination of a section taken from Chang Chun-ha’s cranium showed a circular indentation on the right side behind his ear, and six fractures were found on his right hipbone,” he explained.

Lee said that the skull fracture appeared to be the result of a blow from an object with a round surface, such as a stone or dumbbell, while the fractures to the hipbone were indicative of him falling over the cliff after having lost consciousness from the blow to his head.

Noting allegations by some that the body may not actually be Chang’s, Lee added that analysis of 15 points of DNA showed a 99.99% likelihood that the remains belonged to the father of Chang’s eldest son Ho-gwon, 64.

cradles Chang‘s skull while announcing the team’s findings on Mar. 26 during a public briefing at the main auditorium of the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul. (by Ryu Woo-jong

■ Chang’s fall did not cause his death 　

Lee pointed to the absence of any blood on the body as evidence that the fall was not the direct cause of Chang’s death. He also noted the absence of any damage to the left anterior orbit opposite the indentation fracture, as would be expected if the fall had caused it, and the lack of injury to the shoulder blades, which would be expected if both the head and hips had been fractured by the impact.

Lee explained that the reason Chang’s body was clean and free of blood even after dropping 14.7 meters over a cliff as the government said was because the blow to his head had killed him and his blood flow had already stopped. He also noted that the typically very strong right hipbone was broken into six pieces, and that the shoulders were undamaged, which would have been impossible if the impact had been hard enough to fracture Chang’s skull.

“Based on the lack of abrasions from rocks during the fall and the undamaged condition of the shoulder blades, it appears that Mr. Chang did not slip and fall from Yaksa Peak,” Lee said.

He also offered a reason for why Jo Cheol-gu, the doctor who first examined Chang’s body, recorded the round skull fracture as 2 cm across when the fracture on the remains was actually 6 to 7 cm across. Lee said it would have been impossible for Jo to judge the diameter without tools when the area around the hole was crushed and still covered in skin.

■ Background to the recent reexamination?　

Questions about the possibility of foul play in Chang’s death resurfaced when the round fracture to his skull was first seen as the remains were being relocated on Aug. 1 of last year, 37 years after his death on August 17, 1975.

His surviving family members asked the Blue House to reopen the investigation. The case was passed from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, but the ministry concluded that it did not have the authority to conduct an investigation. This prompted the formation of the Citizens’ Countermeasures Committee to Investigate Allegations of Assassination in the Death of Chang Chun-ha, as well as a fact-finding committee in the Democratic United Party. On December 5 of last year, Chang’s remains were disinterred and submitted for examination.

The committees asked the National Forensic Service and the Korean Society for Legal Medicine to take part, but were reportedly turned down.

After finishing the announcement, Lee went on to stress that he had no political motives for participating, and that he only did so at the request of the citizens’ committee because it was his area of expertise.

“If I had turned down the request, that would have been political,” he said.

Chang’s death was twice investigated by the Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun presidencies. Both times, the investigations were hampered by non-cooperation by state intelligence organizations, and the cause of death was ruled “impossible to ascertain” when family members balked at an examination of the remains.

Chang Ho-gwon said the scientists’ investigation had clearly demonstrated - 38 years after the fact - that his father was the victim of a homicide.

“All that is left now is for President Park Geun-hye and the state to give an answer on the real truth,” he said. Park, who was inaugurated last month, is the daughter of Park Chung-hee.

Lee Jun-young, who heads the policy committee for the Citizens’ Committee, also commented on the importance of the findings.

“It was clearly shown that the democracy leader Chang Chun-ha’s death was a homicide, the result of a blow rather than a fall,” he said. “Now the government needs to set up a special investigation team to reinvestigate and figure out exactly who was in on the conspiracy.”

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