Last 16 days United States of America Georgia Atlanta In one area Occurred chain Shooting By case Korean Yeah People Including Asian six People, a total of 8 people Sacrificed rear, Korean Socially led Incident Probation and survivor support workthis In earnest There is. Jongsoo Oh Reporter I have covered.
The Korean Americans who were killed by serial shootings in Atlanta were 74-year-old Park Soon-jung, 69-year-old Kim Sun-ja, 63-year-old Yoo Young-ae, and 51-year-old Hyun Jung Grant. Grant’s pre-marriage name was’Kim Hyun-jung’.
One of these survivors recently took over the body at the coroner. The acquisition of the second victim is also scheduled to take place in the near future.
The bereaved families are preparing for the proceedings that will take place in court in the future.
On the 19th, Yu Young-ae’s son, P, and other bereaved families appointed Park Byeong-jin, a former prosecutor of the northern state of Georgia, as their attorney.
Attorney Park said in an interview with the VOA that day, “providing enough time and space for the bereaved family to deal with the grief of their mother’s loss is a top priority.”
In the meantime, the Korean American community in Atlanta has formed a cooperative organization to provide legal aid for the survivors and support for funeral procedures.
On the 20th, Sarah Park, chairman of the Korean-American Federation (KAC) Atlanta Branch, explained on the 20th that “Korean-Americans from all walks of life have participated in the cooperative organization and are actively supporting other Asian communities.”
Accordingly, the’Rapid Response Team’, which was initially organized around the Korean American community, has expanded to include Asian, Latin American, and black and white participants.
On the afternoon of the 20th, a civil march to commemorate the victims and stop hate against Asians will be held in downtown Atlanta.
Participants will be voicing that hate and violence should no longer be neglected.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Atlanta Police Department, which are investigating the case, have not determined whether it is a’hate crime’.
The authorities are considering all possibilities in the process of determining the motives of the crime, including his hatred of Asians, including the pathological problems of the suspect Robert Aaron Long.
However, leaders of Korean American communities across the United States are in a position that they cannot understand the position of the investigative authorities.
Tammy Kim, Vice President of Irvine, California, said, “After elaborately and deliberately killing in one place (Asian establishment), he moved another 20 miles and took another life. ”I told VOA on the 19th.
So, Mr. Kim stressed that the accusation of federal hate crime should be applied to the suspect in the case, Robert Aaron Long.
“The Korean American community has already been deeply shocked by the incident itself,” Kim added, adding that the situation is getting worse as the Atlanta police hesitate to regulate the nature of the case.
Authorities will soon announce the conclusions of the initial investigation.
However, contrary to the expectations of Korean American social leaders, an investigative official who requested anonymity said that it may be concluded that it is not a hate crime.
The official explained the background, “in order to prosecute a hate crime, the plaintiff (prosecutor) side must clearly prove that the victim was targeted because of the race or background of origin.”
It is easy to come up with physical evidence to prove this in crimes against black people or Jews, but it is difficult in cases involving Asian victims.
In addition, he added that crimes against Asian origin are mixed with the nature of general robbery due to the nature of victims of many self-employed victims.
The suspect, Mr. Long, was a person who has always expressed his devout Christian faith.
Until recently, I attended the’Crab Apple First Baptist Church’ not far from Duluth Koreantown.
On the 19th, the church said, “Long has disqualified from membership,” and explained that “I can no longer certify that Rong has truly been born again as a believer in Jesus Christ.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden held a private meeting with Asian leaders including Korean Americans during his visit to Atlanta on the 19th.
On this day (19th), a participant told the VOA that the recommendations of the survivors of Korean victims were delivered to President Biden.
He explained that the details of the proposal are not yet in the stage of disclosure.
This is VOA News Jongsoo Oh.