(5th LD) Investigation widens on deadly police clash with protesters

(ATTN: CLARIFIES death toll in paras 6-7)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors and human rights officials launched an
investigation Tuesday into a clash in which six people died and over 20 were
injured in a fire following a police raid on squatters protesting a redevelopment
project in Seoul, officials said.
The incident, which occurred early Tuesday morning, is expected to provide
ammunition for the opposition party at the confirmation hearing of Kim Seok-ki,
the current Seoul police chief, who was appointed on Sunday by President Lee
Myung-bak to head the National Police Agency.
Kim, who ordered the raid according to his subordinates, was accused of using
excessive force last summer in dealing with demonstrators opposed to the
reopening of South Korea's market to U.S. beef.
The Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office dispatched some 20 officials to a
four-story building in the Yongsan Ward of central Seoul, where some 40
protesters, mostly small business owners, had occupied the building since Monday
to demand higher compensation for business closures caused by a major urban
redevelopment project.
Eyewitnesses to the clash said they saw the entire rooftop catch fire soon after
police reached the protesters using a crane. Investigators claim the blaze was
caused by the protesters, who threw paint thinner and makeshift explosives at
police commandos, who raided the building around 6:40 a.m.
The death toll in the incident was tallied at six, with a total of 23 injured,
comprising 17 police officers and six protestors.
Of the six people who died, one was confirmed to be Kim Nam-hoon, a police
officer, and three others were identified as protesters. But the other two bodies
were unidentified.
"Given the grave nature of the incident, we've set up an investigative team.
Officials have blocked the perimeters and are in the process of figuring out what
exactly happened," an official at the prosecutors' office said.
The National Human Rights Commission also said it began an investigation into the
tragic incident, sending its own people to the site to examine whether there were
human rights violations or other mishandlings of the protest.
The raid was first suggested by Baek Dong-san, the Yongsan police station chief,
and was carried out on the orders of the police chief designate, according to
deputy Seoul Police Chief Kim Soo-jung.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation together with prosecutors to find out
exactly how the incident occurred," Baek told reporters.
President Lee, who was briefed on the incident during a Cabinet meeting, ordered
officials to conduct a "thorough investigation," according to a presidential aide
who was present at the meeting. He would not comment on how the incident might
affect the appointment of the new police chief.
In a press conference, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo expressed condolences to the
families of the victims, saying that "a great tragedy has occurred while trying
to disband an illegal occupation."
Park Hee-tae, head of the ruling Grand National Party, called the incident
"distressing" and promised that the party will "use all its strength" in dealing
with the situation.
The opposition Democratic Party (DP), however, blasted Kim and demanded the
president immediately fire him and the minister of administration and safety, who
oversees the nation's police operations.
"(Kim's) first performance after being appointed as the head of police was the
bloody crackdown on ordinary citizens," DP spokeswoman Kim Yoo-jung said,
demanding punishment of all officials involved.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)