Students Remain at S. Korean Cathedral

After a day and night of running clashes between police and student demonstrators in the surrounding area, Seoul’s Myongdong Cathedral opened its doors this morning in a series of Masses for the Roman Catholic faithful.

In the cathedral compound outside the church, a few hundred students sat talking or reading newspapers, continuing their occupation of the site into a fifth day. Shielded riot police maintained their cordon on access roads about 100 yards away.

A young priest conducted the 9 a.m. Mass for parishioners who were passed through police lines. Cardinal Stephen Kim, who met Saturday with government officials seeking a way out of the impasse, was not expected to preach today, another priest said.

The demonstrations broke out Wednesday as the ruling Democratic Justice Party nominated Roh Tae Woo to replace President Chun Doo Hwan in an election later this year. Violent clashes broke out in cities throughout the country, and more than 4,000 demonstrators have been detained, most of them temporarily, according to police reports.

Among those being held are 13 leaders of the National Coalition for a Democratic Constitution, including Yang Soon Jik, vice president of the main opposition Reunification Democratic Party. The coalition, an amalgam of opposition, religious and human rights groups, had called for a rally Wednesday to coincide with Roh’s nomination. But the government forbade the gathering, touching off four days of violent demonstrations involving thousands of students here that saw downtown Seoul covered in an intermittent fog of police tear gas.

Prime Minister Lee Han Key met with his top ministers Saturday to review the situation, but no details of their talks were made public.