The head of Parksamo, a fan club of the ousted President Park Geun-hye, was grilled on Wednesday over a violent protest against the removal of the former president from office last month.

Chung Gwang-yong, the secretary-general of the newly-formed Saenuri Party, appeared at the Jongno Police Station in Seoul around 9 a.m. to undergo police questioning for leading the demonstration, which turned violent and resulted in three deaths and many injuries.

Chung said he “does not admit” the accusations made against him, claiming the excessive use of force by the police killed the protesters.

“As the people were infuriated, I guided them not to use violence and be calm. It was the police who reacted violently,” said Chung.

The protesters at the pro-Park rally, held March 10, simulated violence after the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold the impeachment, destroying police buses and assaulting reporters. Three people died during the rally, and many were reported injured.

Chung said that he could not understand why he should be called on during the presidential election.

“I can sincerely undergo investigation after the presidential election, since I’m so busy right now that I can’t even take a breath,” he said. “(Saenuri) party is composed of over 100,000 members right after its formation. Calling the secretary-general of the party during the presidential election is a repression of politics and election.”

Police summoned Chung three times, but he insisted that he will attend after the presidential election. Due to this police filed for an arrest warrant. With the possibility of arrest, Chung announced Tuesday that he will attend questioning on Wednesday morning.

By Byun Hee-jin ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com