By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Police apprehended five civic activists wanted for alleged illegalities in organizing candlelit protests against the resumption of U.S. beef imports, at a hotel in Gangwon Province, Thursday. But whether they were playing ``hwatu'' (a traditional Korean poker-style game) at the time of their capture is drawing attention from the public.

Police claim they found the five playing the traditional game and drinking, but the civic group members deny they were playing the card game, alleging police were trying to tarnish their image.

``They were playing hwatu and drinking alcohol when police caught them them,'' an officer said.

However, the lawyer representing the five denied the allegation, saying, ``They bought soju and asked the worker at the front desk if she had hwatu cards in order to pretend they were there to gamble, because hotel workers might have been suspicious of five male adults gathering in one room.''

At the same time, the group issued a statement saying that they were not playing the card game. ``It's a plot by the police to ignite public criticism against candlelit protestors,'' the statement said.

The five men went on the run last week after hiding in a Seoul temple for months. They had been staging rallies in the Jogye Temple compound, downtown Seoul, since early July. Police have repeatedly tried to arrest them for organizing illegal rallies but they evaded surveillance by 50 officers.

Police learned of their whereabouts through their cell phone records and closed-circuit television recordings, Wednesday. They raided the hotel at night, catching four who were in the room and one who was outside the hotel going for a walk.

Besides the five, four people are still on the wanted list, including Lee Seok-haeng, head of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions.

Police took them to Jongno Police Station in Seoul and will seek arrest warrants.

Park Won-seok, the leader of a civic coalition against mad cow disease, said, ``I know that people worried about us a great deal. We are sorry for being caught this early.''

Their lawyer said that they had planned to hold a press briefing Monday but changed the date after the plan was leaked. ``They again tried to hold it Wednesday, but delayed it because of the U.S. presidential election. They gathered at the hotel to reset the briefing date,'' the lawyer said.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr