15,000 Protest U.S. Presence in S. Korea

About 15,000 people carrying candles protested across the street from the U.S. Embassy here Saturday in the largest show of anti-American sentiment in South Korea in years.

The protesters, upset over a traffic accident in which a U.S. Army vehicle killed two local schoolgirls, booed and chanted “President Bush apologize!” and “Let’s drive out the murderous American GIs!”

The demonstrators -- including students and members of religious and civic groups -- called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. Protesters also want the soldiers involved in the incident -- who were acquitted in U.S. courts-martial last month -- tried under Korean law.

About 9,000 police armed with helmets, batons and plastic shields spread out in districts around the embassy. Police buses surrounded the embassy compound.

The traffic accident has become an issue in the Dec. 19 presidential elections, with all the main candidates endorsing the activists’ calls for an overhaul of the agreement governing U.S. troops in South Korea.

The presidential Blue House issued a statement stressing the need for the 50-year-old U.S.-South Korean alliance, maintained to deter aggression from communist North Korea.

Opposition candidate Lee Hoi Chang, whose conservative party champions traditional close ties to the U.S., said the alliance faced a serious challenge.

“My biggest concern is that this issue will spill over into widespread calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea, damaging the bilateral alliance that has been a pillar of our country’s security,” Lee said while campaigning in Seoul.