Das Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Hubschraubersystem Camcopter S-100 des Wiener Herstellers Schiebel hat die aufwendigen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen rund um den G-20 Gipfel in Seoul aus der Luft erfolgreich unterstützt. Damit kam erstmals auch eine militärische und luftgestützte Technologie für einen Überwachungseinsatz beim G-20 Gipfel zum Einsatz. Vom obersten koreanischen Sicherheitsgremium eingesetzt und von einem Schiebel Team vor Ort unterstützt, demonstrierte der Camcopter S-100 seine Flexibilität und Effizienz. Als einziges eingesetztes UAS (Unmanned Air System – Unbemanntes Flugsystem)absolvierte der Camcopter S-100 verschiedene Flüge und integrierte sich reibungslos in das Sicherheitsnetz, das von Interpol, ausländischen Geheimdiensten und koreanischen Sicherheitskräften auf höchstem Niveau festgelegt wurde.

Der G20-Gipfel in Seoul ist für Südkorea das wichtigste Ereignis seit den Olympischen Spielen von 1988. Das Land will zeigen, was es kann – wirtschaftlich und politisch. Doch die Interessen der Gipfelteilnehmer sind zu verschieden. Und die Globalisierungskritiker Südkoreas besonders engagiert.

20 Meter hoch steht sie da und formt mit den Fingern ein Herz: In Übergröße strahlt Kim Yu-na, Eiskunstlaufstar und international das berühmteste Gesicht Südkoreas, von Seouls Rathaus. “Die Zukunft der Welt öffnet sich in Korea” lautet der Slogan, mit dem die Schlittschuhprinzessin für das wichtigste Ereignis wirbt, das ihr Land seit den Olympischen Spielen von 1988 ausrichtet: Am Donnerstag und Freitag treffen sich die Regierungschefs der 20 wichtigsten Industrie- und Schwellenländer in der südkoreanischen Hauptstadt, um über weitere Reformen des globalen Wirtschaftssystems zu beraten.

Hier eine erste Zusammenfassung der Ereignisse vor dem G20 Gipfel in Seoul/Südkorea. Ich bemühe mich das Ganze regelmäßig zu updaten.

07.November 2010: Am Sonntag fand die erste große Demonstration gegen den G20 Gipfel in Seoul statt, welcher vom 11.-12. November gehen wird. Mehr als 30.000 ArbeiterInnen und StudentInnen protestierten gegen die Politik des Neoliberalismus und die Politik von Südkorea. Insbesondere die Verschärfung der Ausbeutung von (migrantischen) ArbeiterInnen durch die aktuelle Regierung wie auch dessen Sicherheitswahn – 50.000 Polizisten alleine in Seoul um den Gipfel zu schützen, wie auch der Einsatz des Militärs und das Verbot von Demonstrationen – waren die Hauptthemen.

Help us fight the oppressive G20 regime right now!!

Dear friends,

We are writing this letter to ask for your help. As you know, the Korean government is hosting the G20 Seoul Summit from November 11th to the 12th in Seoul. And now we are witnessing ridiculous ordeals that this two day “global” event is putting us through.

We are being bombarded daily by the media, be it print, broadcast or cyber, with special features celebrating the greatness of the G20. Civil servants are being mobilized to clean up the streets. And all of the sudden they are making a scene out of teaching children economics. The police have suddenly begun strictly enforcing “basic law and order” to show off to the heads of G20 how serene this 10 million strong capitalist capital of the streets, and the crackdown and deportation process of undocumented migrant workers whom the authorities suspect might harbor ‘terrorists’ among them is more violent than ever. The situation appears more and more like a flashback of the American supported authoritarian regime that we overthrew in 1987. Indeed the whole nation is being held in a state of alertness and a total warfare where currency and stocks rise and fall instead of planes, tanks and bombs.

Steven Borowiec

During Toronto’s G20 summit in June, images of a generally peaceful city in turmoil were splashed all over the world. A similar scenario could be played out Thursday as Seoul hosts the next round of meetings.

There is a history in South Korea of making gains through the hosting of international events. The 1988 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup both marked gradients on the country’s development path. Government officials hope that the G20 summit will mark South Korea’s passage to fully developed country.

“In many ways, Korea is a somewhat rare political and economic success story,” said Lee Chan-buom of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding. “Fifty or 60 years ago, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Nowadays, Korea is an industrialized, fairly developed country.”

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Police have arrested four people who scuffled with riot police during anti-globalization rallies ahead of this week's Group of 20 summit, a police officer said Monday.

About 20,000 people rallied at a large plaza near Seoul City Hall on Sunday, just four days before South Korea hosts a two-day gathering of leaders from the G-20 advanced and developing economies.

The rally initially was peaceful, but some protesters scuffled with riot police who tried to prevent them from marching through nearby downtown streets. Riot police fired pepper spray at some protesters at the front of the crowd, forcing them back.

What is the Special Security Law for the G20?

한국정부는 강력한 현행집시법이 있음에도 불구하고 G20특별경호법을 만들었다.
이 법의 요지는,

The Korean government has made a special law just for the G20.
To sum up the law,

1 G20의 경호를 위해 군대를 동원할 수 있다. G20을 위해 6만명의 군과 경찰 병력이 동원될 예정이다.
군의 동원은 흡사 계엄령과 같은 상황을 만들어 군인과 시민이 대치하는 상황이 벌어질 수도 있는 것.
1. The security chief can mobilize the millitary. It might lead to the confrontation between soldiers and citizens as if under martial law.

The Denial of Entry and Repatriation of 6 Filipino Activists is based on Political Bias and a Manifestation of Racism

• Participants to the Seoul International People’s Conference condemned indiscriminately as a dangerous force; exaggerated blacklist.
• Most individuals denied visas or entry progressive activists from Asian or African developing countries.

After turning Paul L. Quintos, the Policy and Outreach Director for IBON International, away at the border, the Ministry of Justice has moved on to deny entry to 5 more people from the Philippines. These individuals, union officers and civil society activists, had arrived at 5:30pm on November 6 in order to participate in the International People’s Conference organized by Put People First! Korean People’s G20 Response Action. As soon as they landed, however, they were told their names were on a list of people prohibited from entering South Korea and immediately expelled without being given a chance to plead their case. All 5 individuals had been granted visas from the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines.

By Bae Ji-sook

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for a 40-year-old man who drew a picture of a rat on a G20 Seoul Summit promotion poster but the request was rejected by the court.

Internet users and observers are denouncing the administration for over-reacting to what many people consider is satire.

According to the Namdaemun Police Station, a 40-year-old university instructor identified only as Park and his friend were apprehended Sunday for drawing a black rat on seven of such posters with spray paint near Lotte Department Stores in central Seoul early in the morning.

Matthias Monroy

Verrückte Welt in Südkorea: Der anstehende G20-Gipfel wird ein neues Superlativ mit noch mehr Polizei und militanten Demonstrationen

Pensionierte Soldaten wollen angeblich Tanker und Tanklaster in Brand setzen, um für höhere Pensionen zu kämpfen. 50.000 Polizisten und noch mehr Soldaten sollen jetzt mobilisiert werden. Südkorea folgt den auch in Westeuropa üblich gewordenen Standards bei Gipfelprotesten: Gesetzesänderungen, weiträumige Absperrungen, Datentausch und Reisesperren für Demonstranten.

Glaubt man den Verlautbarungen der Polizei, könnte der der kommende G20-Gipfel (1) in Südkorea am 11. und 12. November alle bisher dagewesenen Gipfelproteste zumindest in der Herausforderung der Behörden in den Schatten stellen: Kriegsveteranen des Underwater Demolition Team (2) (UDT) planen (3) angeblich militante Proteste zur Durchsetzung ihrer Forderungen nach höheren Rentenzahlungen. Demnach würden die ehemaligen Soldaten Straßen verbarrikadieren, Fahrzeuge und sogar Öltanker in Brand setzen wollen. Damit soll der geplante Austragungsort des Gipfels rund um Coex im Stadtteil Samsung-dong in Seoul blockiert werden.

Die Mitteilung der Polizei zu den Direkten Aktionen der UDT ist allerdings vage: “Wir haben gehört, dass einige Mitglieder von UDT-Veteranenverbänden sehr gewalttätige Proteste in Seoul planen.”

South Korea’s military was put on top security alert this week to guard next month’s G20 summit against any disruptions by North Korea or international terrorists.

“Our military has been placed on the highest level of security alert” until November 13, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.

Seoul will host world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama for the Group of 20 summit from November 11-12, in what is considered the nation’s biggest appearance on the world stage since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The South’s military, helped by U.S. reconnaissance equipment, is closely monitoring movements by North Korean troops, the spokesman said.

A US-South Korea naval exercise in the Yellow Sea, originally scheduled for this week, is canceled in view of the G-20 summit, scheduled to be held in Seoul November 11 and 12, said local media Sunday, citing a senior government source.

Also, the two countries decided to postpone a large-scale landing maneuver in the Yellow Sea, until after the G20 summit.

South Korean government sources reportedly said that the decision to cancel the drill was made to avoid causing tensions with China and North Korea ahead of the summit. Beijing opposed the deployment of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super-aircraft-carrier USS George Washington.

South Korean police will go on high alert ahead of the upcoming G-20 summit in Seoul to sternly deal with violent protests, including one planned near the summit venue by a group of hard-line special forces veterans who are calling for reforms of their veterans’ merits system, the nation’s police chief said Monday.

According to Cho Hyun-oh, chief of the National Police Agency, some 100 veterans of Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) are preparing radical demonstrations by mobilizing various vehicles, exploding oil tank trucks and committing seppuku near the COEX in southern Seoul, where the G-20 leaders and participants will gather during the Nov. 11-12 meeting.

South Korea is promising a less imposing security effort as it hosts the G20 – but it forgot to mention the submachine guns.

Having watched the public furor during Toronto’s G20 over the big grey concrete slabs set up to keep the public at bay, South Korean officials say their security walls for the leaders summit Seoul next November will be coloured brightly with beautiful artwork.

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday presided over a special meeting of security-related ministers. He also requested in the Cabinet meeting last week that all government departments and agencies cooperate in the successful management of the G20 summit, the biggest ever diplomatic event hosted by the country.

“Security and escort issues should at all times be the No. 1 priority,” the prime minister said.

“I also urge the citizens to show the foreign visitors the best of our country during their stay.”

South Korea will mobilize its largest security force ever in anticipation of widespread protests during the G-20 summit next month in Seoul, the Yonhap news agency said.

Authorities said a total of 50,000 police and riot police will be deployed during the summit on November 11 and 12, according to Yonhap.

Preparing for the country’s largest event yet, authorities have banned demonstrations from November 8-12 within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the summit site.

A number of South Korean union and civic groups are gearing up for large protests against the G-20, while other groups are planning unrelated rallies in hopes of drawing international media attention.

With the G-20 Summit scheduled to begin in less than 41 days, the special law for security took effect yesterday and has already barred a civic activist from Japan, who was on a Ministry of Justice blacklist, from entering the country.

Japanese activist Hajime Matsumoto, 36, was invited to attend a Korean civic group’s event next week, but the Korean immigration office blocked his entry on Thursday and he was forced to go back to his country yesterday.

Though the immigration office declined to give an official reason for his rejection citing security concerns, sources told the JoongAng Ilbo that it is related to tightening security measures ahead of the G-20 Summit in Seoul in November.

SEOUL — South Korea has suspended a plan to use 'sound cannons' at next month's G20 summit in Seoul after the tactic to disperse protestors drew criticism from rights' groups, an official said on Sunday.

Police had said they wanted to deploy Long Range Acoustic Devices -- or sound cannons -- that can emit up to 152 decibels.

But critics say prolonged exposure to the noise can cause hearing loss in and infringe on the right to stage protests.

South Korea held a launching ceremony for the G20 Police Security Unit on Monday ahead of the summit in Seoul this November.

In May the Seoul Metropolitan government announced a set of plans to support the G20 Summit’s safety.

About 17,000 policemen demonstrated various drills coping with possible terrorists or violent protests near the summit venue and hotels where the leaders of 20 countries will be staying.

Water cannons, armored vehicles and explosive disposal vehicles were mobilized for the drills demonstrated during the ceremony.

Amid the disputed safety of long-distance directional audio equipment called “sonic bombs,” police held a demonstration of the technology Friday at the mobile squad headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Deciding to introduce the equipment to disperse demonstrators ahead of the November G20 summit in Seoul, police transmitted warning sounds of 130, 140 and 150 decibels alternately while narrowing the distance from 100 meters to 64 and 32 meters in the session.

Even a five-second exposure to the warning siren, which repeatedly whistles fast, gives feelings of numbness in the eardrums and queasiness. The audio equipment uses directional speakers designed to concentrate sound on a target within a 15-degree angle.