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Officials do not rule out deporting some who participated in protests
April 30, 2008
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Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said investigators are reviewing video footage and photos taken Sunday during the protests as well as footage from nearby surveillance cameras, and will identify those involved in violence that injured several citizens and police officers. Lawbreakers will “be held accountable for what they did,” he said. During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo vowed to take legal and diplomatic measures to “help restore Koreans’ wounded pride,” stressing lawbreakers should be handled based on laws and principles, regardless of nationality. Kim echoed the sentiment. “We find it deeply regrettable that foreigners were involved in such illegal, violent protests amid a climate here where such protests are being restrained under the new administration,” he said. Typically, foreigners convicted of aggression charges are not subject to deportation unless they receive a jail term or other harsh legal punishment. But that does not mean the Chinese students involved in the violence will not face deportation, according to Kim Sung-hun, a public prosecutor at the Justice Ministry. “The Korea Immigration Office can deport foreigners who receive lighter punishments, like fines or probation, if the office deems the person poses a significant threat to society,” Kim said. Korean police acknowledged they had not anticipated such big, wild crowds for Sunday’s event, according to Eo Choeng-soo, commissioner general of the National Police Agency. “We were told by the Chinese ambassador that the Chinese crowd would be about 1,000 to 1,200,” Eo said in a press conference yesterday. “But there were far more Chinese students at the scene, and the police focused more on monitoring those who might try to interrupt the torch relay than watching the students.” The police estimated about 6,500 Chinese students attended the event. Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon, who left for Beijing to coordinate the upcoming Korea-China presidential summit, is expected to again express displeasure about the latest incidence to the Chinese government, according to ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young. By Jung Ha-won Staff Reporter [hawon@joongang.co.kr] |
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