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Roh Orders Punishment of Demonstrators

Posted May. 19, 2003 21:52,   

한국어

President Roh Moo-hyun instructed law enforcement officials Monday to severely punish the student demonstrators who blocked the entrance to the national pro-democracy cemetery in Gwangju on Sunday, forcing Roh to enter through the back gate. "The government needs to apply the law to the protesters in a strict manner," said Roh during a daily meeting with senior advisers and secretaries.

The President`s order was delivered during Monday`s meeting with senior presidential secretaries and aides. “I don`t think I was humiliated by the students group`s behavior at the cemetery. However, regarding the lax safety measures around the cemetery that day, excessive punishment for those who could have prevented the incident should be avoided,” said Chung Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Tae-young as quoted by the President.

Moon Jae-in, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, also said Monday: “The freedom of assembly and the right to stage protests is guaranteed by law. Those who participate in public gatherings should assume full responsibility if they want to enjoy this freedom. Apart from this incident, fundamental measures which set guidelines for assemblies and demonstrations should be taken to prevent a reoccurrence of similar incidents in the future.”

The government is considering declaring Hanchongnyeon, or the Korea Federation of University Student Councils, as a legal and legitimate entity in accordance with developments in public opinion, separating the incident at the cemetery on May 18 from their decision.

Justice Minister Kang Gum-sil directed the prosecution Monday to dole out stiff measures to some members of Hanchongnyeon. "The behavior of the students who blocked the road leading up to the cemetery and interfered with President Roh`s procession is a deplorable act which tainted the spirit of the May 18 movement and disrupted public order," Minister Kang said in a statement.

Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) Kim Doo-gwan issued a statement: “If democratic orders and due process were violated, those violators should be punished, even if they are students. Based on information gathered regarding the incident, participants in the demonstration will be arrested and eleven leading figures in the demonstration, including the 11th chairman of the student activist group will be summoned by the police.

The Minister added that the Supreme Public Prosecutors` Office requested that Gwangju`s head prosecutor clarify details regarding the incident and ordered the police to arrest those responsible for the protests.

Minister Kim Doo-gwan said that this incident should be separated from the government`s consideration of legalizing the student activist group. However, he hinted that the incident might still affect the government`s decision on the issue.