By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

The prosecution sought arrest warrants Monday for 32 unionized cargo truck drivers deemed responsible for leading a violent street protest in Daejeon over the weekend.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said it had apprehended a total of 457 people for violence during the protest organized by the Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union and sought warrants for those whom police said threatened riot policemen with bamboo sticks or other weapons.

``The number of protesters to be taken into custody is likely to increase,'' senior prosecutor Roh Hwan-kyun said. ``We will take stern measures against any illegal violent protests. We will file compensation suits soon.''

The progressive Korea Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) said the crackdown was a challenge to democracy and the basic rights of workers. It threatened to stage a general strike as early as late this month.

``This issue will be discussed in a meeting Thursday,'' the union said.

But the prosecutor hit back, saying, ``The protest was illegal, so we had no choice but to crack down on demonstrators.''

About 7,000 unionized truckers and KCTU leaders clashed with police, leaving 99 riot policemen and dozens of protesters wounded. One officer incurred an eye injury from a wooden stick wielded by a protestor.

Protesters armed with 5-meter-long bamboo poles damaged 99 patrol buses and 155 items of police equipment, the prosecution said.

Of those apprehended, 172 were freed after a brief interrogation, while around 240 people are under investigation, police said.

The protest was ignited following the suicide of unionized trucker Park Jong-tae ― found hanging from a tree earlier this month ― which was said to be over frustration over the renewal of a contract.

At the time, Park had been placed on a wanted list for interrupting the business of domestic logistics firm Korea Express. The company terminated the contracts of 76 operators in March after a failure to agree on service fee hikes.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr