300 Confront Riot Police : Freed S. Korean Students Vow to Keep On Fighting

The 23-year-old college senior with freckles and pink running shoes had her first taste of freedom in 10 months last week. She is one of the 537 political prisoners who have been released from the nation’s jails in what President Chun Doo Hwan has called a process of sweeping “democratization” in South Korea.

But Friday, 11 days after her deliverance from what she says was nearly a year of almost daily beatings and torture, the young woman was still too afraid to give her name for publication.

The reason: She was angry, she said, not grateful, and she took her anger back onto the streets of Seoul on Friday afternoon, voicing slogans and songs in a confrontation with the riot police and intelligence agents who had put her in jail. She was not alone.

At least 300 of the 537 students, laborers and politicians released on Chun’s orders in the past two weeks met for four hours in the courtyard of Myongdong Cathedral, during which they resolved to keep fighting the Chun government and planned their strategy.

Then, shouting, “Topple the dictatorship!” and “Do not be deceived by Chun Doo Hwan!” the former prisoners marched from the rear of the cathedral to within eight feet of the police lines and the nearly 1,000 riot police blocking the entrance. There they sat, defiantly singing revolutionary songs, for nearly 30 minutes before leaving peacefully one-by-one.

The confrontation was just one symptom of what one Western diplomat this week called “the end of the honeymoon” between the government and several sectors of South Korean society since Chun’s July 1 acceptance of sweeping plans for reform.

New Pessimism

“There is this sort of pessimistic strain starting to come out all over town,” the diplomat said.

The freed prisoners, perhaps the most visible signs that the government is sincere in its expressed intention to move toward democracy, are an example. Instead of being witnesses to the government’s good intentions, it appears they will now become weapons against it.

The former prisoners and their leaders declared in interviews and speeches during Friday’s meeting that they plan to use their new freedom to renew their fight, this time by dividing into groups under the banner of the July 17 Newly Freed Students and Laborers Alliance. They said they will fan out to colleges, universities and factories throughout the country and use their prison experiences to mobilize more anti-government activists.

Their anger, most said, stems from their experiences not only in prison, but during their moment of liberation as well.

‘Used by Government’

The 23-year-old senior from Ewha Women’s University expressed that view in these terms: “Of course, I cannot say there was no happiness on the day I was set free, but I was more sad than happy, because I knew that democracy still has not been fully achieved. And when I saw all the reporters and the camera flashes going off during my release, I knew then that we were being used by this government for some purpose.”

A 22-year-old Yonsei University junior who was set free the same day agreed.

“Of course, I was glad to be free, but at the same time, I was sorry to have left so many of my friends back there,” he said. “At the time of my release, I was fairly certain this was a deceitful release. But now, not only me but all of the released prisoners believe we have been used to deceive the people.

“So, until all the remaining prisoners are released, until democracy is restored and until the military dictatorship is destroyed, we will all continue our fight,” he added.

‘Room to Maneuver’

He conceded that “there is more room now for us to maneuver,” but he added: “This more room we have is not real space. I can always be caught from behind and jailed again. And these few little freedoms we have gained can be crushed in an instant.”

President Chun, who has resolved to keep prisoners that he considers Communist ideologues behind bars, made another attempt Friday to convince the public of his sincerity, promising that more reforms are forthcoming and appealing for patience.

But he added a warning. Speaking on the 39th anniversary of the drafting of the first South Korean constitution after this nation was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, Chun said:

“All should try to find the maximum common measure, exercising self-restraint and based on the spirit of mutual concession. We must guard against self-centered dogmatism and selfish tricks by any individuals or factions.”

Opposition Statements

The political opposition, which will challenge Chun’s hand-picked successor, Chairman Roh Tae Woo of the ruling Democratic Justice Party, in direct presidential elections later this year, released statements of their own to mark the national holiday.

Kim Young Sam, leader of the Reunification Democratic Party and a likely opposition candidate for president, criticized Chun and appealed for support from such dissidents as the former political prisoners.

“The government and ruling party should abandon the daydream of prolonging their regime and release all political prisoners, lift political curbs and take other democratic steps ahead of constitutional change,” Kim declared.

Another, more radical opposition leader, Paek Ki Won, addressed the former prisoners at Myongdong Cathedral. Paek was among 2,335 political dissidents whose civil rights were restored July 9 in one of the moves toward democracy promised by the government.

A Big Prison

“There is only one difference between now and before Chun Doo Hwan’s July 1 announcement,” Paek said. “Before, we were in a small prison. Now, we are in a big one.”

A Buddhist monk, who told the former prisoners that he represents the conservative and traditional National Buddhist Assn., criticized Chun’s “democratization” program, telling the gathering at the cathedral:

“As a result of our peoples’ struggle, we have obtained at least a small portion of our demands, which is a direct presidential election. But this was also a trick to undercut the peoples’ struggle. In our struggle for democracy in this country, we have only gotten the ‘D.’ And we cannot step back until we achieve all our goals and establish a truly democratic peoples’ nation.”