Court gives suspended jail term to demolition worker in Yongsan tragedy

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court Thursday sentenced an employee of a
demolition company to a six-month suspended jail term for having unduly engaged
in a police raid that left six people dead.
A police SWAT team raided a dilapidated four-story building in Yongsan, central
Seoul, in late January to evict dozens of squatters opposing the redevelopment of
the area. Six people, including a police officer, were killed in the blaze that
occurred during the pre-dawn raid.
The defendant, identified only by his surname Hur, and his colleague were
indicted for firing water cannons at the protesters to stop them from building a
hideout a day before the deadly raid. They were hired by the demolition company
contracted to dismantle the building.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down a six-month jail term, suspended for
a year, to Hur, and fined his colleague 1.5 million won (US$1,100).
Prosecutors had said that police did not stop the defendants from firing the
water cannon but cleared them of any wrongdoing, as police were too busy
conducting the raid to control the demolition crew.
brk@yna.co.kr
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