Lee Orders Thorough Investigation of Deaths
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporters
Opposition parties criticized the government Tuesday for dispatching a large number of riot policemen and a SWAT team in order to remove 40 protestors who were evicted from their residences places under an urban redevelopment plan in Yongsan, Seoul.
The largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) urged President Lee Myung-bak to dismiss Public Administration and Security Minister Won Sei-hoon and police chief-designate Kim Seok-ki for the mishap.
President Lee, meanwhile, ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo also expressed deep regret over the death of six people at a designated construction site in Seoul, saying the administration will make a full investigation to bring to light the truth behind what happened.
Han pledged to deal sternly with any illegal activities, saying, ``We are paying attention to whether there were any illegal acts when police cracked down on protesters. We will deal with this case in accordance with law and principle.''
DP leaders raised a doubt on why the government sent a SWAT team. Spokesman Kim Yoo-jung said, ``It was a tragedy which was expected to happen when the Lee Myung-bak government ordered police to crack down on the occupants. Therefore, we characterize the deadly incident as a consequence of conscious negligence.''
The DP and other opposition parties dispatched fact-finding teams to the scene.
Meanwhile, the governing Grand National Party (GNP) said determining the facts was the first thing to do, warning opposition parties not to take advantage of the case to stir up the public.
The GNP sent a team to the site, refraining from making any specific comments on the incident.
GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae told reporters that his party would make every effort to get things done right, adding that he was extremely sorry about the incident. Park declined to make specific comments on the case.
President Lee received a report about the deaths from a presidential secretary while presiding over a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
``We are very embarrassed at the fact that the tragedy took place only one day after a Cabinet reshuffle was announced,'' a presidential spokesman said, asking not to be named.
On Sunday, President Lee named Won as chief of the National Intelligence Agency and promoted Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency head Kim Seok-ki to chief of the National Police Agency. Won and Kim were involved in the line of command regarding the crackdown on the protesters.
The two nominees are scheduled to undergo an Assembly confirmation hearing next month.
Cheong Wa Dae plans to soon announce the nominees for heads of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the National Tax Service.
Prime Minister Han said the prosecution has set up a unit to investigate the case.
The Seoul metropolitan government is also making efforts to take care of the bereaved families and prevent such a tragedy from occurring again, the prime minister said.