Police to probe attack on Rep. Chung

By Kim Rahn

Police will investigate a conservative civic group member for her alleged assault on Rep. Chung Dong-young of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) during Sunday’s rally for tuition cuts.

Officers at Namdaemun Police Station said Wednesday that they will summon the 62-year-old woman, identified as Park, next week.

“As Chung’s aides wanted a probe into the case, we asked Park to present herself before police for questioning. She admitted to pulling the lawmaker’s hair at the scene,” a police officer said.

Around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Chung was taking part in the rally at Cheonggye Square in central Seoul, sitting in the front row of the protesters.

Park, who was passing by after participating in another gathering of conservative groups at nearby Seoul Plaza, reportedly leaped at him, grabbing his hair and collar, and cursing at him: “The running dog of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun! You communist!”

She was pulled away by people around Chung but was not taken into police custody.

Right after the incident, Chung said on his Twitter account, “Whatever kind of violence it is, all violence only humiliates democracy.”

The DP called for immediate police action in a statement, saying, “It was violence committed in broad daylight against a participant of a peaceful rally. It was a terrorist attack on Chung, who was the opposition party’s presidential candidate and is an incumbent lawmaker.”

Regarding the call, police said on the evening of the attack that policemen at the scene asked Chung’s aides whether they wanted to punish Park but they chose not to.

But Chung’s aides said no police officer had asked any of them about punishment.

“Whether she will be punished or not, we can’t accept the police’s attempt to ignore the case,” an aide said.

DP Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu also criticized police, saying, “Police don’t intend to investigate the case at all. They encourage such things.”

Minor opposition Liberty Forward Party spokesman Rim Young-ho said, “Will police not investigate it when nobody asks for a probe? They may not have taken such a lukewarm attitude if the victim was a ruling party member.”

As the controversy grew, police changed their stance. Another officer said, “We didn’t ask Chung’s aides at the scene whether they wanted punishment. We saw video clips recorded by a witness and confirmed the assault, so we asked Park to present herself for questioning.”