Seoul Cabinet Reshuffled Over Police Cover-up

South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan today replaced his prime minister, intelligence chief and six other government officials after disclosure of a police cover-up in the torture death of a student activist.

His move came after all 26 members of his Cabinet tendered resignations to take what outgoing Prime Minister Lho Shin Yong called “political and moral responsibility” for the cover-up and also for a separate financial scandal in South Korea’s largest shipping company.

The two incidents “have brought into question our government’s morality and confidence with the public,” Lho was quoted as saying.

Calming Public Outrage

The shake-up appeared aimed at calming public outrage over the disclosures, which have created widespread talk in Seoul of prosecutors shielding high-level officials from punishment and deflating opposition efforts to exploit it.

Two policemen were arrested in January, shortly after the university student, Park Chong Chul, died after his throat was pressed against a bathtub while his head was being forced into water in a police interrogation center. Last week, it was disclosed that three more had been arrested for taking part.

Prosecutors initially said that only the five were involved, but now they say that five additional, higher-level officials are under investigation. The opposition quickly called for resignation of the Cabinet and a special National Assembly session to investigate.

On Saturday, riot police detained about 830 people during an afternoon of street skirmishes in central Seoul that were held, in part, to protest the death of Park, who was a junior at the elite Seoul National University. Most of the protesters were freed without charges.

7,000 Students Protest

On Sunday, police broke up more protests by hundreds of activists in Inchon, 25 miles west of Seoul, and on Monday, more than 7,000 students staged rallies at 24 colleges and universities throughout the country to protest the police cover-up, according to wire service reports.

Riot police firing tear gar moved into Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul and battled for two hours with about 700 students, who hurled firebombs and rocks. Students elsewhere shaved their heads in protest. Some began hunger strikes.

Chun has several times removed individual Cabinet members to deflect anti-government anger among the public. At the time of the initial arrests over the torture case in January, he replaced his home affairs minister and national police chief.

However, real power in South Korea is concentrated in the presidency. The opposition is likely to denounce today’s moves as a sham since they leave Chun’s position unchanged. He has promised to step down at the end of his term in February, 1988.

The new prime minister is Lee Han Kee, a member of the ruling party and a former law professor and chairman of the government’s Board of Audit and Inspection. The new deputy prime minister, replacing Kim Mahn Je, is the former finance minister, Chung In Yong.

New Security Chief

Chun named a retired brigadier general, Ahn Moo Hyuk, as chief of the Agency for National Security Planning, formerly known as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. Since leaving the military in 1981, he has held jobs in crime suppression and tax administration.

In addition, new men were named as finance minister, prosecutor general, justice minister, home affairs minister and head of the president’s office of legislation.

Chun had been expected to reshuffle his Cabinet anyway after a June 10 convention of his ruling Democratic Justice Party, and some analysts said the reshuffle today was, in part, a moving up of that schedule.