NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN PROTESTORS CLASH WITH POLICE IN RALLY TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH OF GIRLS CRUSHED BY US VEHICLE DURING EXERCISE

Record ID: 645920

  • Title: NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: SOUTH KOREAN PROTESTORS CLASH WITH POLICE IN RALLY TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH OF GIRLS CRUSHED BY US VEHICLE DURING EXERCISE
  • Date: 13th June 2003
  • Summary: (W5) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JUNE 13, 2003) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CANDLE-LIT VIGIL FOR TWO DEAD GIRLS PROTESTERS RUNNING TOWARDS UNITED STATES EMBASSY VARIOUS OF SCUFFLES WITH RIOT POLICE AND PROTESTERS SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PROTEST LEADER LEE SEUNG-HEON SAYING: "It has been one year since Hyo-soon and Mi-seon died. We have demanded for a year to punish the murderous U.S. soldiers, revise SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) and to have U.S. President George W. Bush's apology. But none of the above has been done." MORE OF VIGIL MEMORIAL SERVICE AT U.S. FORCES IN KOREA (U.S.F.K) HEADQUARTERS SV U.S. AMBASSADOR THOMAS HUBBARD MORE OF MEMORIAL SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF U.S.F.K., GENERAL LEON LAPORTE SAYING: "Today, we stop to remember. We will remember because we care. We care because two young girls died as a result of something that we did. Although no one meant to do it, death claimed the lives of Shim Mi-seon and Shin Hyo-soon." SV MORE OF MEMORIAL SERVICE
  • Embargoed: 28th June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA/ PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA
  • City:
  • Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA8TM8YT37U76947NTAJDJU05OF
  • Story Text: Thousands of South Korean protesters scuffled with riot police after a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of two local school girls crushed by a U.S. military vehicle during an exercise.
    About 20,000 South Korean protesters scuffled with riot police in Seoul on Friday (June 13) as they tried to march on the American embassy to mark the anniversary of the deaths of two girls crushed by a United States (U.S.) Army vehicle.
    After a peaceful rally of rock songs and anti-U.S.
    speeches, the crowd marched toward to the U.S. embassy, confronting 10,000 helmeted riot police mustered in thick columns along the main avenue of the South Korean capital.
    The police sprayed fire extinguishers and used shields to push back the crowd about a block from the heavily guarded U.S. mission. There were no reports of injuries.
    The protesters demanded punishment for the American drivers of the tank-like minesweeping vehicle which crushed the two 13-year-old girls, Shim Mi-Seon and Shin Hyo-Soon, on a highway during a U.S. army training drill.
    "It has been one year since Hyo-soon and Mi-seon died. We have demanded for a year to punish the murderous U.S.
    soldiers, revise SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) between South Korea and U.S. and to have U.S. President George W.
    Bush's apologise. But none of the above has been done," said protest leader Lee Seung-heon.
    The U.S. court martial acquittal in November of the two U.S. soldiers turned small protests in the village north of Seoul where the accident took place into nation-wide demonstrations drawing up to 300,000 people at a time.
    Amid a national outpouring of anger, repeated U.S.
    apologies and more than 100,000 United States dollars (USD) in compensation to each of the girls' families went unreported in local media. Apologies offered by President George W. Bush were rejected as insincere.
    Other protesters denounced the security policies of the United States, which keeps 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea and has recently unveiled plans to restructure forces and spend 11 billion USD over three years to strengthen defences.
    The U.S. Forces in South Korea (USFK) also held a memorial for the girls at its headquarters which U.S. Ambassador Thomas Hubbard attended.
    "Today, we stop to remember. We will remember because we care. We care because two young girls died as a result of something that we did. Although no one meant to do it, death claimed the lives of Shim Mi-seon and Shin Hyo-soon," said General Leon LaPorte, the USFK commander-in-chief during the memorial.
    The state-owned television in North Korea aired two separate anti-U.S. and memorial rallies on its evening news bulletin.
    The government of President Roh Moo-hyun has tried to avoid a repeat of demonstrations last year, which sparked anti-U.S. violence that brought ties between Seoul and Washington to their lowest point in 50 years, hurting South Korea's economy.
    The protest movement spooked Seoul's financial markets, which were shaken by fears that the South Korea-U.S. security alliance was unravelling at the same time North Korea was escalating nuclear tension with a series of provocations.
    North and South Korea are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict, pitting U.S.-led United Nations Forces against Chinese-backed North Korea.
    cah/jg
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