Police raid hospital to investigate death of activist hit by water cannon

Police raided a hospital in Seoul on Monday as part of their investigation into a farmer who died there earlier this week after he was hit by a police water cannon during a protest last year.

The Seoul Jongno Police Station said it raided Seoul National University Hospital to obtain medical records on Baek Nam-gi, 69, who was pronounced dead of acute renal failure Sunday.

The activist had been in a coma since a water cannon knocked him down during the massive antigovernment demonstration in central Seoul in November last year.

Critics have blamed the police for excessive force in the protest.

Police, however, argued there is no clear link between the water cannon and Baek’s death.

Earlier in the day, a local court rejected police’s request to conduct an autopsy on Baek to better determine the cause of death, while allowing them to raid the hospital to gain documents of his full medical records.

Police said they will decide whether to reapply for the writ after analyzing the documents obtained.

Earlier this month, former police chief Kang Sin-myeong refused to apologize for the incident during a parliamentary hearing, saying it is “inappropriate” to issue an apology for every injury or death during crackdowns of demonstrations. He said causes and legal responsibilities must be clearly defined beforehand. (Yonhap)