"It is a deeply regretful matter. I bow my head and apologize," Roh said in a news conference at Cheong Wa Dae.

"Public power must be controlled and exercised only in a calm and collected manner and therefore holds a heavier responsibility," Roh said, pledging to reprimand the people responsible, make appropriate compensation for the victims' families and prepare measures to prevent similar cases.

The farmers died last month and this month while undergoing treatment for injuries from their collision with police during a demonstration against the government's opening of the rice market.

The president's apology came just hours after police chief Huh Joon-young apologized for the tragedy and vowed to take responsible countermeasures.

President Roh Moo-hyun apologizes in a news conference yesterday for the deaths of two farmers. [The Korea Herald]

The human rights panel announced on Monday that the deaths of the two farmers, Hong Deok-pyo and Jeon Yong-cheol, seems to have been caused by police violence during the rally near the National Assembly on Nov. 15.

Responding to a question about Huh, who is facing demands to step down, the president said that he was not legally bound to reprimand him.

The president also pointed to the fundamental problem of violent rallies which are common in Korea.

"Regarding violent rallies, we see a lot of cases where the protesters actually get ready to be violent. I simply cannot comprehend how those people can justify such violence," Roh said, adding he will be broaching the fundamental issue at a different time.

Huh, the commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency, said in a news conference in the morning, "I sincerely apologize to the public as I sternly blame myself for the failure of the police to carry out their responsibility to protect human rights and safety."

But he added he will be taking care of the matter from his post, indicating he would not be stepping down.

"I will hold any police officers responsible for the incident if they are found to have been engaged in illegal activities," he said.

The farmers have been holding candlelit vigils at Gwanghwamun in downtown Seoul and in front of the National Police Agency headquarters, condemning the police.

The National Human Rights Commission announced that the two farmers seemed to have died from police-inflicted injuries.

Hong Deok-pyo died in a hospital on Dec. 18 and an autopsy report indicated the 68-year-old farmer died of septicemia caused by damage to his cervical vertebrae.

Hong was hit on the head and neck by shields wielded by riot police. The commission said it was most likely that his death was the direct result of being beaten.

Another farmer, Jeon Yong-cheol, died six days after receiving brain injuries at the same rally.

The panel said Jeon is presumed to have suffered concussion and sustained injuries from repeated police violence after he was thrown off balance from police rushing with shields.

The panel said the police appear to have violated regulations for demonstration control, under which they are banned from hitting protesters from above.

Farmers have been staging a series of protests against the World Trade Organization meeting held in Hong Kong this month. The WTO meeting among the trade ministers around the world ended in Dec. 18 with an agreement to eliminate farm export subsidies by 2013.

Korean farmers contend the opening of the market would eventually kill demand for domestic rice.

(angiely@heraldm.com)

By Lee Joo-hee

2005.12.28