A CITY IN CRISIS: HOPE AND PRAYER AMID THE ASHES : South Korea Will Seek Reparations for Riot Damages : Diplomacy: The government has sent a delegation to Los Angeles to seek compensation for hundreds of store owners who suffered losses.

The South Korean government has dispatched a delegation to Los Angeles to seek reparations for hundreds of Korean and Korean-American store owners who suffered damage in last week’s rioting, the country’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday.

The government said a group headed by Assistant Foreign Minister Ho Seung would meet today with Mayor Tom Bradley and other officials to discuss compensation for Korean-owned businesses that were destroyed or crippled by the violence.

Los Angeles officials have not yet broken down damage figures for city neighborhoods, such as Koreatown, which was one of the communities hit hardest by the rioting. But South Korean officials, based on their conversations with local Korean leaders, estimate the damage as high as $300 million. The ministry did not say if that much in compensation would be sought.

“Damage was more than physical, but the collapse of the American Dream,” said Parliament Speaker Park Jyun Kyu in announcing the government’s plans to seek compensation.

In another development, Kim Dae Jung, leader of the opposition New Democratic Party in South Korea, is expected to meet with community leaders today to assess the damage. Kim is expected to tour the riot-torn areas in the afternoon.

And a senior U.S. Defense Department official said that the South Korean government has put its forces on alert to guard against possible attacks on American soldiers and U.S. installations in that country.

Tensions have been high between South Koreans and black American soldiers since a Korean grocer in Los Angeles shot and killed black teen-ager Latasha Harlins last year for allegedly stealing a bottle of orange juice, according to the Defense Department official. The tension escalated when the grocer, Soon Ja Du, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the case but did not receive a prison sentence.

Against that backdrop, the burning and looting in Koreatown persuaded the South Korean government that protective measures were needed for the approximately 38,000 American troops stationed in the country, the official said.

Members of the Korean-American Coalition applauded announcement of the visit by the South Korean delegation, saying that they will welcome any effort to provide relief to the estimated 850 Korean-owned businesses that suffered damage or were destroyed in the rampage.

“I think we can safely say that the Korean-American community suffered the most,” said Robert Park, vice president of he coalition. “We realize lots of other communities suffered, but if an American business community in another country suffered, I’m sure they would want their government to help them.

“But our main priority is working with the U.S. government agencies. We’re Americans after all, and we expect that they will help us out because I’m sure most (business owners) will want to rebuild.”

The South Korean delegation is also scheduled to attend funeral services for a 19-year-old Korean student killed in the melee. Edward Lee, 19, who attended Santa Monica City College, was killed when he was accidentally shot Thursday night by other Korean shop owners who were trying to defend their stores at 3rd Street and Hobart Avenue against looters.

Gov. Pete Wilson met with local Korean officials Sunday at the South Korean Consulate to discuss what could be done to help business owners rebuild. Wilson aide Bill Livingstone said the governor told them that the state would provide initial loans and disaster assistance to speed the recovery.

“It tends to be a long process to receive federal (Small Business Administration) loans and the governor wants to move things along,” Livingstone said. “But as far as providing money above and beyond that, there just isn’t any available. They will just have to depend on federal assistance.”

Times staff writer John Broder contributed to this story.