Vol. 09, Issue 07 July 2009 
Mike White Final Court Date Set
Mike White Court Update, and directions for those who can attend:
The last hearing for Mike White’s case is July 14, 2009, this is the 5th meeting of court officials and the third time in the court room. The sauna staff have been repeatedly called to testify in court yet have not attended. On April 7th, the court again asked sauna employees to attend the May 26th session, they did not appear.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 room 33 at 3:30
In Daegu, Jibang Beobweon is the name of the court house, It is close to Banwol subway station (5.000 won) and Dongdaegu KTX/subway station (3.000 won). If you take the bus into Daegu instead of a train, no worries just hop on the subway and go to Dongdaegu station, as this has the best taxi fare, but Banwol station is the transfer point, you have to decide between price/speed.
There are city buses which will take you to the courthouse, but the routes often change directions/routes according to the neighborhood written on the little white signs of the front window. If you want to take a city bus, instead of the subway, I suggest you call 053-1330 and ask for the correct bus number AND neighborhood name for the route you want. Just tell the nice lady which bus station/train station you are at.
The best thing to do is to tell the taxi driver “Jibang Beobweon cha chusayo” if he has trouble understanding you, there is a foreigner translation service for taxi drivers, at 053-1330. Press 2 for English and the lady will be happy to help translate to the driver.
There are 3 large buildings, the middle building is the ‘court house’ as we think of it in the west. The elevators are to the back of the lobby area, go to the 3rd floor, room 33.
There should be absolutely no English speaking inside the courtroom unless you have direct permission from the Judges. I”m pretty serious about this. No whispering, quiet chatting, nothing in English as it would be considered offensive.
While the Judges are usually 10-15 minutes late, we shouldn’t be. If you happen to arrive a little late, there are benches in the hallway to sit on while you wait. Thanks~!
This event is open to the public and there is seating room for about 40 persons. There are more benches in the hallways and foyers on the 3rd floor. Foreigners are encouraged to attend to show the courts we are concerned for the safety and well being of each other, and we are concerned about the process through which truth is revealed in the deaths of foreigners. If enough light is shed on the problem of ‘unfortunate accidents’ and more families were able to bring high monetary suits to court, we might see a shift to have these issues settled in criminal courts instead.
Last summer I donated 270 books in Mike’s Name to the GIC and most of Mike’s personal library and educational books/games to Kona Center. His clothes were donated to the North Korean Clothing charity. I don’t know the name of the ‘blue boxes’ but was told the clothes went to NK.
Sunny Days
Steph
