Confirmation of police chief nominee delayed due to squatter deaths

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office decided Friday to withhold its
request for parliament's confirmation hearing of the new national police chief as
pressure mounts for the nominee to withdraw after the deaths of several squatters
in a clash with police.
The decision, however, does not mean the presidential office has decided to abort
its nomination of Kim Seok-ki, a spokesman for the presidential office Cheong Wa
Dae told reporters.
"The delay is not because the government decided not to send its confirmation
request to the National Assembly, but because he did not have time to prepare all
his documents amid the chaos," the spokesman, Lee Dong-kwan, said.
"Even if we are unable to submit our request today, it will have nothing to do
with his status," he said, adding the final decision on the nomination will only
come after the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.
Five protesters and a police officer were killed in a fire that erupted as
special police forces raided a building rooftop to disband squatters staging a
sit-in to demand more compensation over a land redevelopment project.
Kim, the incumbent head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was tapped this
week to head the National Police Agency in a Cabinet shakeup that also included
nominations for unification and finance ministers, as well as the head of the
National Intelligence Service.
Confirmation requests for all three other nominees will be submitted Friday,
according to the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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