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| Police stormed a building occupied by squatters in central Seoul, sparking a clash and a blaze that killed at least six people and injured 20, authorities said. | ||
Korean government is taking into consideration keeping a third party from intervening the redevelopment-related disputes between the concerned counterparts, an authority official said Wednesday.
The move came as a recent clash in Yongsan between tenants to be asked for closure and a SWAT team has been thought to be sparkled due to the illicit interference of National Alliance of Squatters (NAS).
The fire erupted on Jan 20 at a building rooftop in Yongsan, central Seoul, during a crackdown by police commandos on a group of squatters staging a sit-in against an urban redevelopment project in the area.
The blaze killed six people, including a police officer, and left more than 20 injured.
The authority is also seeking revision of the current law governing redevelopment and new town project along with this measure of preventing the invervention by third party, an official said.
And the chief Grand National Party(GNP) lawmaker Yim Tae-hee has already commented on the clash earlier saying that a third party's interference made the clash bigger.
"The consensus among the member of country's ruling party has been made on the fact that there are few systems for troubleshooting when this kind of strife takes place," he added.
The tentative conclusion of government is as follows about the incident ;
NAS started occupying a four-story building in Yongsan illegally without any prior notice while the negotiation process was making between the tenants and Yongsan District officers.
A Police made a decision for a SWAT Team to crack down the rioters because the authority came to the conclusion that nearby pedestrains and neighbors were threatened by the protesters from NAS throwing molotov cocktails, which has caused the blaze in Tuesday's standoff between former tenets occupying the building and police.
It is reportedly said that protesters collected some 60 million won to make possible weapons such as petrol bombs, wooden sticks and steel pipes and water and food for 20 days for the preparation of the demonstration.
Some squatters will likely face criminal charges, according to a prosecution official, as they were aware of the risk of storing a substantial amount of paint thinners and other inflammable material in one area.
By Kirim Shin
신기림 기자 kirimi99@ajnews.co.kr
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