Candlelight Vigil Organizers to Be Summoned
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Police will summons civic group officials who allegedly organized candlelight vigils to oppose the resumption of U.S. beef imports.
Jongno Police Station said Tuesday that it launched an investigation into five civic groups on charges of violating the law on assembly and demonstration and instigating a violent rally. It also will call 10 officials of the groups for questioning by June 2.
The police will seek an arrest warrant for them, should they repeatedly refuse to come forward.
``Those to be summoned have snubbed police guideline on street rallies. They illegally occupied streets in downtown Seoul, which resulted in severe traffic congestion,'' a police official said. ``We are working to identify the key figures of the street protest and gathering information on them.''
Police rounded up 29 ``vigilantes'' Monday night for participating in the ``illegal collective actions.''
Earlier, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo called for the strict punishment of illegal protesters.
``Protesting rallies are being carried out. They must not degenerate into political rallies that employ illegal tactics," he said.
Civic group members and students are expected to continue to protest despite repeated government warnings against rallies. Thousands held a candlelight vigil at a square alongside the Cheonggye stream that runs through the heart of Seoul for four consecutive days until Tuesday.
Civic groups and opposition parties are calling on the government to renegotiate, demanding Korea should limit imports to meat from cattle up to 20 months old and ban bones as a precaution against mad cow disease.