On October 19, the man in a "red raincoat," who appeared immediately after the late farmer Baek Nam-gi was hit by a police water cannon at the time of the First People's Rally on November 14, 2015, spoke on allegations that he attacked Baek.

A, a man in his forties who is also a member of the Gwangju chapter of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference at the office of the National Union of Mediaworkers at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul this day, and said, "The best that I could do (at the time) was to block the water cannon," and further elaborated, "One thing is clear. I reached out (for the ground) with my hand so that I would not fall on the man who had collapsed (Baek)."

A is the man at the center of allegations that a man in a "red raincoat" assaulted Baek, raised by the far-right Internet community, Ilbe and some ruling party lawmakers. The police investigated A on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act and for interfering with the general traffic last December and sent his case to the Prosecutors’ Office calling for an indictment without detention in March this year. However, the police stated that they did not investigate the allegations of assaulting Baek.

This day during the press conference, A said, "I was interrogated for more than four hours at the Namdaemun Police Station, where they had set up a task force last year. The police officers in charge played a number of videos and said they had secured evidence. I admitted everything concerning my outfit including my shoes and my bag, and I also told them everything about the photos that they presented."

However, A said, "The police already knew everything, but they didn't show me any pictures from the time of the Baek Nam-gi incident. If it was just about the evidence they presented, there was no reason for them to call me to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, for they asked questions suitable for a simple rally participant."

A said that the police did not ask questions related to Baek at the time. He said, "Eleven months passed since I was questioned, but no one has contacted me. I even found out that my case was sent to the Prosecutors' Office from media reports."

"I only saw the video twice, once when I was questioned and when it was released by News Tapa. The reason I couldn't watch it any more was because it was a traumatic experience for me. What my two eyes faced as I tried to support my body with my hand on the asphalt after being shot in the back with the water cannon was the motionless Baek Nam-gi with his eyes closed. He was bleeding and covered with tear gas solution, which made him look like he had tons of makeup on," said A.

He continued, "Everything is clear when you see the video. I can't understand why they are using it to obscure the nature of the problem and the point in question. They (the police) are not identifying the truth and punishing the people responsible. Instead they seem to have some frame set up in order to have everything fit a planned picture." He added, "I am not the star. What we need to focus on is the fact that a man who came out in order to live lost his life at the hands of a country, which should have protected him."

A was not acquainted with Baek. A said, "I saw him (Baek) for the first time at the rally that day. I found out that we lived in the same area when his personal information was mentioned in the media reports."

A said that he came to the press conference after discussing with a lawyer from the legal department of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union. He said, "I did not respond before because I thought that would be like becoming the prey of those who enjoyed fiction. There is no reason to refuse (now), if they want to know the truth. If necessary, I am ready to cooperate in an investigation by the police or the Prosecutors' Office."

Earlier, on Ilbe, allegations were raised that the cause of Baek's death was not the police water cannon, but a collision with the man wearing a red raincoat. Saenuri Party lawyer Kim Jin-tae and Na Kyung-won mentioned such claims on Ilbe during the parliamentary inspection at the National Assembly. The police said, "We need to be open to various possibilities."

A's legal representative, attorney Kim Seong-jin said, "We plan to sue all the people who posted comments accusing A, including the online community Ilbe, for defamation. We are considering whether to file a lawsuit against the ruling party lawmakers as well."