Police chief warns against illegal protests ahead of large May rallies

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- The national police chief vowed Wednesday to enforce
a tight clampdown on violent and disruptive demonstrations, a warning directed at
nationwide labor and anti-government rallies scheduled later this week.

"We will fully allow peaceful and legitimate rallies but sternly deal with
violence in accordance with the law," Kang Hee-rak, commissioner of the National
Police Agency, said at a press briefing.
The warning came as civic and labor groups were preparing to launch massive
rallies, saying they will congregate some 100,000 protesters on Friday to mark
national Labor Day in front of Seoul city hall. The rallies are aimed at
expressing the groups' discontent with policies of the conservative Lee Myung-bak
government.
The groups also plan to hold rallies to mark the anniversary of last year's
candlelight demonstrations, in which millions gathered to denounce Seoul's
decision to resume U.S. beef imports. The demonstrations last summer continued
for months and led to plummeting approval ratings for the Lee government just
months into its term.
Authorities plan to mobilize water cannons to crack down on violent protests and
preemptively disband rallies that show signs of turning violent, Kang said.
He also vowed to crack down on those who break the law, promising to track them
down and punish through civil law suits or other legal actions.
Police have adopted stricter rules against violent protests since the Lee
government took office in February last year, leading to accusations of excessive
use of force during the anti-U.S. beef demonstrations and more recently after six
people, including a police officer, died in a raid on squatters by a police swat
team.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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