Police chief-designate resigns over fire tragedy

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national police chief-designate resigned
and withdrew from nomination Tuesday amid mounting pressure for him to step down
over a police raid on protesters last month that left six people dead.
"Holding myself morally responsible for the Yongsan accident, I withdraw from the
nomination for the head of the National Police Agency and also step down as the
Seoul police chief," Kim Seok-ki, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency,
said at a press briefing.
On Jan. 20, a police SWAT team raided a dilapidated four-story building in
central Seoul to evict dozens of squatters opposing redevelopment of the area.
Six people, including a police officer, were killed in the blaze that occurred
during the pre-dawn raid.
Many have blamed Kim, nominated just two days before the incident by President
Lee Myung-bak as the new national police chief, for permitting the raid despite
knowing the protesters were armed with fire bombs and other flammables.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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