Police search office of Park supporters

By Kim Bo-eun

Police searched the office of an organization of supporters for former President Park Geun-hye, Wednesday, amid an investigation into violent rallies by group members.

Officers of the Jongno Police Station searched the office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul, at around 1:30 p.m., to secure evidence of the orchestration of a violent protest held near the Constitutional Court, March 10, the day the court delivered its ruling on Park’s impeachment.

Police also searched the home of the group’s spokesman Chung Kwang-yong in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.

The police summoned Chung, Wednesday, and questioned him for 14 hours on charges of organizing the rally.

At the protest, some participants wielded makeshift weapons against police, and three participants died from injuries sustained in the process.

Chung told reporters after the interrogation he does not acknowledge the charges against him, and blamed “police oppression” for the casualties.

He also claimed the police summoning him, the secretary general of the newly formed Saenuri Party, is a political oppression.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors indicted a 50-year-old man who took part in the protest and allegedly attacked reporters. He also faces charges of damaging a camera belonging to a news broadcaster and obstructing reporters’ work at the scene.