Church Group Accuses Seoul of Rights Abuses

More than 1,800 of South Korea’s leading clergymen Friday accused the government of human rights abuses and demanded that it make good on promises of democratization and other reform.

The Korean National Council of Churches said the government of President Roh Tae Woo is more undemocratic than that of his dictatorial predecessor and is “causing people’s lives to collapse with the suppression of human rights.” In a statement issued after an all-night prayer meeting at a downtown Anglican church, the council said more than 800 people were arrested as political prisoners in recent months.

The church council, which represents leading Protestant clergy in a nation where one-fourth of the population is Christian, has been a political force for years. But Friday’s message was its first major political statement since Roh came to power, succeeding Chun Doo Hwan.