VIOLENT STUDENT PROTESTS IN SOUTH KOREA

Thousands of South Korean students clashed with police in Seoul today, protesting a government decision not to indict two ex-presidents -- Roh Tai-woo and Chun Doo-hwan -- in connection with a bloody 1980 massacre, in which hundreds of people were killed. Student activists at Hankuk and Sejong universities in eastern Seoul hurled fire bombs at riot police who shot back with volleys of tear gas. One student was badly burned when a gasoline bomb thrown by another student hit him in the back of the head. At least three riot policemen were injured. David Jackson reports: "College students in South Korea have long acted as the conscience of the citizenry. Pressure from students helped force the elections in 1988." Today's protests could force the government to reverse itself, Jackson says, but only if the government sees that the public strongly supports the student outrage. Says Jackson: "The government is very reluctant to open those old wounds. President Kim surely does not want to provoke the military by going after these two former military leaders."