S. Korean Police Break Up Pre-Election Protest Rally

Thousands of riot police crushed an attempt by several hundred anti-government demonstrators to congregate in downtown Seoul on Sunday evening, disrupting traffic with blockades and clouds of tear gas. The incident created a tense atmosphere as Tuesday’s National Assembly election approached.

At least one person was injured when nonviolent protesters converged on the Roman Catholic Myongdong Cathedral, where a rally had been scheduled by a coalition of student and labor groups.

Chin Ki Hun, 26, who identified himself as a passer-by, was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a tear-gas canister. Several protesters were seen being dragged off by police as they tried to penetrate cordons of officers sealing off the area around the cathedral.

The heavy show of police force in the heart of one of Seoul’s most fashionable shopping districts sparked shouts of protest by passers-by, some of whom got into pushing matches with riot police. Throngs of Sunday shoppers fled in panic from the tear gas. The unrest lasted about three hours, with the crowds dispersing after dark.

Earlier in the day, more than 100,000 people gathered without incident for a rally staged by Kim Dae Jung, the opposition leader who ran unsuccessfully for president last December, at Seoul’s sprawling Yoido Plaza. Kim attacked the government of President Roh Tae Woo, saying it was no different from the authoritarian regime it replaced, and exhorted the crowd to vote for candidates from his party on Tuesday.

Kim accused authorities of shutting down the subway system to limit the size of the rally, which was an unauthorized campaign event and sparsely attended compared to his gatherings in last year’s presidential campaign.

At Myongdong, about 130 protesters managed to assemble within the grounds of the cathedral to chant slogans and sing protest songs. Organizer Lee Boo Young, a dissident who was released from prison in a political amnesty in February, said the protest was aimed at criticizing the policies and election tactics of the ruling party.

While there have been frequent reports of violence between rival parties at election rallies during the National Assembly campaign, street demonstrations have been rare in recent months. Students set a police vehicle afire in a minor incident at the cathedral two weeks ago. Last Tuesday, demonstrators threw rocks and firebombs at police blocking access to a rally site in central Seoul, burning a police bus.

Student demonstrations have been otherwise contained to college campuses, out of the sight and mind of the general public.