S. Korea Police Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Crowd

Tens of thousands of riot police fired tear gas and used shields today to disperse Buddhist monks, students and opposition politicians marching in memory of a student allegedly tortured to death by interrogators in January.

National Police Director Lee Yong Chang said 35,000 police were mobilized across Seoul to prevent demonstrations. He estimated the number of marchers at 1,000 to 1,500.

The two sides clashed near the main temple of South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect.

Scattered clashes erupted elsewhere in Seoul, but protesters, facing an enormous police presence, were unable to mass for “peace marches” called as a memorial to student dissident Park Chong Chul.

Lee said that 257 people were arrested but that most will be freed after “being admonished.” He said that 16 police officers were injured, three of them seriously, and that four civilians were hurt.

According to an official announcement, Park, 20, died of suffocation Jan. 14 when investigators questioning him about anti-government activities forced his head into a tub of water and crushed his neck on the rim. Two police officers have been arrested and indicted on charges of murder through acts of atrocity.

Buddhist monks and students carrying photographs of Park gathered at a downtown Seoul intersection. The protesters tried to march to the temple to conduct a memorial rite, but police halted the marchers and pushed them back with shields. The Buddhists pushed back, and police fired tear gas.

The protests took place on the sixth anniversary of President Chun Doo Hwan’s inauguration in 1981.

Authorities kept Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam, the two most prominent opposition politicians, under house arrest to prevent them from leading the marches.