By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter


The nation’s police chief tendered his resignation Thursday, taking responsibility for the recent deaths of two farmers who sustained fatal injuries from riot police during a rally against wider rice market opening in Seoul last month.

Huh Joon-young, commissioner general of the National Police Agency (NPA), submitted his resignation to Government Administration and Home Affairs Minister Oh Young-kyo early Thursday.

President Roh Moo-hyun accepted Huh’s resignation shortly after its submission.

Huh gave in to mounting public pressure to step down just two days after announcing his intention to keep his job although President Roh apologized for the deaths.

``I decided to offer to resign from my post, since I do not want to burden the administration at this busiest time of the year for politics,’’ said Huh in a released statement.

Huh, however, maintained his stance that the deaths of the farmers are not an appropriate reason to force a police chief to step down.

``The accidental deaths of the two protesters are regrettable. I wish the best for all the farmers and police officers who were injured in last month’s rally, and also believe that we must learn to express our thoughts in a more peaceful way,’’ he said in the statement.

Huh had been under increasing public pressure to step down, since the National Human Rights Commission concluded Monday that two protestors, Chon Yong-chol and Hong Tok-pyo, had died from injuries sustained from beating by riot police in the violent farmers’ rally on Nov. 15.

In a nationally televised news conference Tuesday, President Roh issued a public apology for what he called ``an excessive use of force’’ by the police.

Huh also issued a public apology on the same day but had refused to voluntarily step down from his post.

Huh, who joined the police agency in 1984, began his two-year tenure as commissioner general of the NPA in January this year.

Thousands of protestors, mostly farmers and civic activists, gathered in Yoido, Seoul, Nov. 15, to protest against a government plan to further liberalize agricultural trade.

The massive rally resulted in a violent clash between the protesters and riot police, resulting in injuries to several hundred people.

Chon, 43, a farmer from South Chungchong Province, collapsed at his home a day after the rally and died six days later from head injuries.

Hong, 68, who was also seriously wounded during the rally, died a month later from injuries he sustained at the time.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr