By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Members of an ultra-right wing civic group broke into the headquarters of a progressive political party Tuesday night to protest its role in supporting anti-U.S. beef protesters, and assaulted a well-known professor and other party members.
Three members of the Headquarters Intelligence Detachment (HID), an independent organization for retired special forces soldiers who engaged in espionage missions in North Korea in the past, attacked the New Progressive Party's (NPP) main office in Seoul.
According to witnesses, the HID members punched and kicked six party members and threatened them with fire extinguishers. They also made them call in Jin Joong-kwon, a progressive professor at Chung-Ang University. The professor has broadcast candlelit protests on the party's TV channel ``Color TV.'' They slapped the professor in the face when he turned up at the office, alleging he had criticized the HID.
The assault left six party members injured, two of whom taken to a nearby hospital.
Police sought arrest warrants Wednesday for two of the HID members including its director, Oh Bok-seop.
The progressive party urged President Lee Myung-bak to apologize for the attack since the director, who led the raid, had served as a key member of Lee Myung-bak's presidential campaign entourage last December.
Sin Jang-sik, the spokesman for the party, said, ``It's clear Oh spearheaded the attack, which means the raid should be seen as a collective act of terrorism against us.
``Given the director is a key aide to the President, we can foresee what kind of measures will be utilized by the government to clampdown on citizens and organizations opposing the beef imports.''
Two other opposition parties ― the United Democratic Party and Democratic Labor Party ― also called for rigorous punishment of those involved and an apology from the President.