S. Korea’s National Police Chief Quits

The national police chief stepped down today, raising to nine the number of top officials that President Chun Doo Hwan has fired to quiet outrage over the death of a student under police questioning.

The government announced that the resignation of Police Chief Lee Yong Chang had been accepted after the removal Tuesday of Prime Minister Lho Shin Yong and seven other Cabinet ministers and key aides, including the heads of the national intelligence agency and the Home Affairs Ministry, which is in charge of police.

Official sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lee is stepping down to accept “moral and political responsibility” for what government prosecutors have indicated was a high-level cover-up over the death of dissident student Park Chong Chul under police interrogation on Jan. 14.

Lee took over as national police chief when a previous chief was forced out soon after the torture death was revealed.