South Korea probes secret plan for military crackdown on candlelit protests against Park Geun-hye
Activist group citing multiple leaks said top military leaders had studied plans to crack down on demonstrators
South Korea will investigate allegations that ousted president Park Geun-hye planned to send military troops to quash the candlelit protests that culminated in her impeachment last year, the defence ministry said Thursday.
Activist group the Centre for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK), citing multiple leaks, said top military leaders had studied plans to crack down on demonstrators calling for Park’s resignation over a corruption scandal.
South Korea was ruled by military dictators for decades – one of them Park’s own father Park Chung-hee – and only fully embraced democracy in the 1990s, making such issues highly sensitive.
“The defence ministry will immediately launch a probe,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We will announce the results of the investigation in a transparent manner and take follow-up measures”, it added.
According to the CMHRK the plans were only set aside after the country’s top court endorsed the National Assembly’s decision to impeach Park.
