Protesters Clash With South Korean Police

Riot police wielding truncheons and shields beat back thousands of protesters who gathered Saturday to protest the death of a radical student.

About 4,000 police clashed with protesters who tried to march to the provincial government headquarters in this city about 170 miles south of Seoul.

“Down with murder and torture!” protesters chanted. Some troops were beaten to the ground by protesters armed with bamboo sticks. The crowd burned helmets and shields seized from police.

Police did not stop the estimated 10,000 people from holding a rally in a square in front of the government building, even though fighting broke out several times.

Dissident leaders called for the overthrow of President Roh Tae Woo’s government as the protesters cheered and clapped, shouting, “Down with Roh Tae Woo!” and “End the military dictatorship!”

Dissident groups organized the march to denounce the death of the radical student, Lee Chul Kyu, whose body was found Wednesday in a reservoir near Kwangju.

Dissidents asserted at a rally at Chonnam University earlier Saturday that Lee was tortured to death by police interrogators. Police denied any involvement in the death. The government is conducting an investigation.

“This barbarous act was committed by the suppressive security forces to suppress the national democratic movement,” a dissident leader told the estimated 15,000 people at the university rally.

Speakers called for nationwide protests to topple Roh and expel the 43,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea under a mutual defense pact. They charge that Roh and the United States are trying to impose military rule on South Korea.

Authorities fear that Lee’s death could provoke unrest in Kwangju, since it occurred near next Thursday’s anniversary of the May 18, 1980, Kwangju uprising in which at least 192 people were killed. Many residents believe Roh is one of those responsible for the bloody suppression of the uprising.