Presidential aide resigns over Yongsan scandal

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- A presidential official offered to resign Sunday over
his recent e-mail to the police, telling police to use the arrest of a suspected
serial killer to divert public criticism over last month's deaths of five
protesters in a police raid.
The official, identified only by his surname Lee, was earlier given a verbal
warning despite mounting calls for his dismissal.
The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae last week insisted the instruction was only
a personal idea.
"The official, Lee, from the office of the secretary for national integration
expressed his wish to resign today, taking responsibility for his inappropriate
action," the Cheong Wa Dae said in a short statement released Sunday.
Five squatters and one police officer were killed on Jan. 20 during a police
crackdown on protesters who were staging a sit-in at an abandoned building in
Yongsan, Seoul, as they faced eviction due to a land redevelopment project.
A prosecution investigation has cleared the police of any wrongdoing, but former
chief of the Seoul police agency Kim Seok-ki, who was tapped to head the national
police agency just two days before the incident, was later forced to step down
amid growing public criticism.
The tragic incident seemed to be nearing an end when Rep. Kim Yoo-jung of the
main opposition Democratic Party accused Cheong Wa Dae of trying to direct public
criticism toward a suspected serial killer.
The Democratic Party legislator claimed the presidential office has instructed
the police to "actively" publicize the arrest of the suspected killer, Kang
Ho-sun, to divert public interest away from the tragic Yongnsan incident.
After a long denial, the Cheong Wa Dae on Friday admitted one of its officials
has sent down such an instruction to a police official in charge of public
relations, but said the idea was only suggested at a personal level.
The opposition party continued its calls for the launch of a National
Assembly-sanctioned probe into the deaths of Yongsan protesters as well as the
alleged government efforts to manipulate public opinions.
"It is a crime where the government tried to cover up the deaths of poor,
innocent citizens by publicizing a serial killer who is suspected of killing weak
female victims," Rep. Suh Gab-won, the senior vice floor leader of the Democratic
Party, said Sunday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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