(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Jan. 23)

Aftermath of Tragedy
Most vital is fundamental prevention of recurrences

The political leaders' handling of the tragic clash between police and protesters
that cost six lives Tuesday is disturbingly inappropriate.
Rival parties are just wrangling over which should come first ??? the
disciplining of the Seoul police chief who approved the premature and
ill-prepared operation to evict illegal occupiers, or finding the exact cause of
the incident that burnt five civilians and one police officer to death.
Under normal circumstances, the governing Grand National Party's allegation that
a probe should be made first has reasons. It is apparent to anyone's eyes,
however, the disaster could have been prevented had the police put the citizens'
safety ahead of hasty crackdown such as by trying to persuade them sufficiently
or at least taken some safety steps.
Seoul police chief Kim Seok-ki, who was tapped as the national police chief by
President Lee Myung-bak a few days before, is completely inexcusable in that he
failed to make minimal precautionary steps before jumping to the last resort.
Come to think of it, however, dismissing him could prove to be the most lenient
punishment, given the legal violations his underlings committed such as
conducting autopsy without permission by the bereaved families, let alone their
failure to abide by the basic principles in shattering civilians' resistance.
Some governing party officials say members of the national association of evicted
tenants could have set off the fire as a defense or ``suicidal tactic." But the
inclusion of some ``professional demonstrators" should be no reason that police
can make light of the safety of citizens fighting for their right to live. On a
second through, was it not the government that gave rise to this tenants'
associations in the first place with its unreasonable urban redevelopment policy
and ruthless eviction of needy people.
President Lee called the deaths ``heart-rending" Wednesday, stressing such an
incident would never happen again. Unfortunately, however, similar tragedies are
always likely to recur as long as the government's serious reexamines its
reckless redevelopment of urban quarters, which drive out tenants by force ???
mostly by employing hooligans ??? while making compensation falling far short of
maintaining the tenants' residential and income situations.
With the percentage of previous residents moving back to remodeled apartments and
commercial buildings hovering below 20 percent, this is nothing but a banishment
with a different name.
So the first thing the government should do is to increase the compensation to a
``realistic level," by revising the related regulations. It should demand
concession from private and state-run land developers and homebuilders, who
reportedly have to cook their books to make profits appear smaller than they
actually are.
The tenants' group is not an ``anti-state" organization, as an ultra-rightist GNP
lawmaker put it, but a product of mistaken policy and wrong governance. A nation
cannot become an advanced country if the title is won upon the tears and even
lives of the lowest class of the society.
President Lee should express a formal apology ??? not a regret ??? sack
responsible officials and promise a policy change. Otherwise, the signs are that
the revived candlelight could evolve into torchlight this time.
(END)