Seoul Issues Warning on Violent Protests : South Korea: President Roh, delivering instructions to reshuffled Cabinet, stands firm against radicals.

President Roh Tae Woo said today that he will guarantee the right of peaceful assembly but will deal sternly with violence and stand firm against radicals seeking to overthrow his government.

Delivering instructions to a newly reshuffled Cabinet and the leadership of his ruling Democratic Liberal Party in a 37-minute speech broadcast on nationwide television, Roh also acknowledged that economic discontent has contributed to political unrest that was sparked by the fatal beating of a student by police April 26.

“During the past month in which a series of demonstrations and social unrest have erupted, the people have not looked kindly upon the government and the ruling party,” he admitted. “Whatever the cause of the unrest, demonstrations spread in such extreme in Seoul and other cities because the people’s discontent and frustration were great. I humbly accept this fact and feel deeply responsible for it.”

He also said “the people’s distrust in politics”--in both the ruling and opposition parties--”is reaching a dangerous point.”

For its part, the ruling Democratic Liberal Party “should implement internal democracy and undergo a rebirth to obtain the people’s trust,” he said.

Flanked by Chung Won Shik, his newly appointed prime minister, and Kim Young Sam, the former opposition leader who now is executive chairman of his ruling party, the president pledged to guarantee the right of people to demonstrate and said he is willing to amend the law regulating demonstrations, if necessary.

He also announced that the government will stop sending riot police onto college campuses on its own authority and will dispatch police to campuses only when requested by college authorities.

But he said that street demonstrations in a democratic society should be a “last resort” of expression of opinion and “should not cause inconvenience to the people.”

“Violent, destructive actions in which stones, firebombs, sticks and iron pipes are in abundance will not be tolerated. The government will deal sternly with violence, without flinching,” he said.

He said it was regrettable that Kang Kyung Dae, 21, a Myungji University freshman, was beaten to death but noted that nearly 100 policemen are now in hospitals with injuries suffered in demonstrations this month.

“They are also our sons,” he said.

Roh rejected opposition charges that he was plotting to extend his party’s grasp on power by revising the Constitution to implement a Cabinet, instead of presidential, form of government.

The president devoted nearly a third of his speech to economic problems, touching upon inflation that is threatening to rise this year by more than 10%, land and housing costs, taxation and agricultural issues.

He said he is “aware of the people’s complaints about prices” and called housing costs that have soared over the last three years “regrettable.”

The economy, however, has taken a turn for the better, he said. Price increases will be held to single-digit growth this year, he pledged.

On Monday, Prime Minister Chung listed four priorities for the new Cabinet: restoration of trust between the people and the government, full democratization in all spheres of activity, development of science and technology and educational reform.

Chung told reporters that he has no intention of seeking to restore calm on the nation’s campuses by “imposing restrictions and clamping down on protests.” Rather, the new prime minister said he will correct “irregularities” at private universities, where two-thirds of the nation’s college students are enrolled, grant professors and administrators more authority and autonomy and try to correct what he called “the biased views” of students.

He suggested that more students be given opportunities to travel overseas “for a first-hand look at how the socialist countries are collapsing.”