VIOLENCE IN SOUTH KOREA

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32032, 5 July 1969, Page 13

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH KOREA

(New Zealand Press Association) SEOUL, July 4. South Korean student leaders, protesting against the possibility of President Park Chung Hee seeking a third four-year term of office, have announced that they will stage another demonstration today, in spite of a police warning that assaults against police officers will carry severe punishment.

In a violent clash yesterday, more than 3000 students battled with riot police, who used tear-gas and clubs to dispense them. About 175 students were arrested.

Similar demonstrations by students, who carry much political weight in South Korea, forced the resignation of President. Syngman Rhee nine years ago.

Reports reaching the capital say that 800 students also staged campus protest rallies yesterday in the provincial towns of Taegu and Chonju in a week of violence and demonstrations throughout South Korea. The present Constitution bans a president from seeking a third term, forcing Mr Park to step down in 1971 at the end of his second four years in office. Mr Park's supporters have repeatedly said they favour a constitutional amendment, because they feel that he alone can provide the national leadership to push economic progress and defence efforts.

This has led opposition politicians to accuse the ruling Democratic Republic Party of pushing for an amendment, even though Mr Park himself has been noncommittal on the issue. Two colleges of Seoul National University were ordered into early summer holidays by the faculty. The move came after a confrontation late Wednesday night at the university’s law college, where. students beat up and seriously injured a police officer.

Many universities and colleges remained temporarily closed. Faculty members decided to suspend classes and postpone scheduled examinations for several days, hoping for a cooling-off period.