Police, Protesters Clash at Base Site

On May 4, the Ministry of Defense and police completed clearing out the Daechu branch school building in Daechu-ri, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and put barbed wires around the lot where a U.S. military base will move into. The ministry mobilized around 3,000 soldiers from the metropolitan defense guard and field engineering corps, and the police also sent in 12,000 policemen from 115 companies.

The military established barbed wire 29km around the U.S. military base relocation site, and the police carried out a forced dismantlement of the school building. The military designated the place as restricted area for military facilities on that day.

Accordingly, residents of the village and members of civic organizations will be virtually denied access to the entire area except for the entry road to the village until the end of June by when all the residents move out. Residents will not be allowed to farm in the area and will have to consult with the military if they want to build new buildings or expand existing ones in the area.

The demolition of the school building started at 5:00 a.m. and met with fierce resistance from residents and around 1,100 members of the committee against the expansion of the Pyeongtaek U.S. military base, and of civic organizations, and was finished in 12 hours at around 5:30 p.m.

In the clash between the military and the protesters, 210 people were injured (117 policemen and 93 protesters). The police took 348 demonstrators to the police station to question them. Majority of those arrested are reportedly from anti-war and anti-U.S. groups, including Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea, the South Korean Federation of University Students Councils, the Anti-U.S. Youth Association and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The police seized a 200-liter petroleum drum, 30 bamboo sticks and 50 iron pipes at the Daechu Branch School. The Defense Ministry has positioned military forces in the village, and the police have also decided to deploy about 2,500 riot policemen in the entire village for a 24-hour watch against possible damage to the barbed wire by protesters.

Min-Hyuk Park Kyung-Hyun Nam bibulus@donga.com mhpark@donga.com