Koreans Protest Death of Student : Olympic Blvd. Marchers Say Police in Seoul Killed Him

Carrying signs reading “Torture and murder must stop in South Korea” and “Death to killer Chun,” about 100 demonstrators marched along Olympic Boulevard in Koreatown on Saturday to protest the recent death of a South Korean student who died while being interrogated by police.

The protesters carried a mock coffin and wore white to symbolize their sorrow and anger at the Jan. 14 death of Park Jong Chul, 21, a linguistics student at Seoul National University. Park suffocated when two policemen repeatedly shoved his head into a tub of water, crushing his throat in the process.

“Park’s death is a manifestation of systematic oppression by President Chun Doo Hwan’s government,” said Lee Sang-yon, 26, a member of Young Koreans United of Los Angeles. “There have been many such tortures.”

South Korean authorities initially reported that Park had died of shock but later acknowledged that he had been tortured to uncover the whereabouts of a campus radical leader. President Chun ordered the arrest of the two policemen on charges of homicide and fired his home minister and national police chief.

The incident has had a profound impact on Korean politics. About 80 opposition members of the South Korean Parliament staged a sit-in Wednesday to protest the government’s refusal to allow a special committee to investigate police and prosecution departments.

Spokesmen for the Korean Institute for Human Rights, an umbrella organization that represents 18 groups in Southern California, said the dismissals and arrests were not sufficient. Leaders played a tape recording of Park’s mother crying over the loss of her son during an emotional memorial ceremony in Ardmore Park before the demonstration.

“Concern is growing among Korean residents here,” said Myong Jae Hwi, a member of the Southern California Congress for Restoration of Democracy in Korea, one of the 18 groups represented by the institute. “We vow to make the most of this incident to show that South Koreans are one of the most suppressed, unfortunate people in the world.”

Shin Hyung Kim, spokeswoman for the Korea Task Force of Southern California, said fear kept more people from showing up to protest.

“The Korean dictator has the means to suppress and torture anyone, even in America, who speaks out,” Kim said. “But we know the people’s heart is with us.”

Officials from the South Korean Consulate in Los Angeles declined to comment on the Saturday protest.