Prosecutors want death for ex-president Chun

Prosecutors want death for ex-president Chun

SEOUL (Reuter): South Korean prosecutors asked a Seoul criminal court yesterday to sentence former president Chun Doo Hwan to death on charges of sedition, treason and bribery.

Senior prosecutor Kim Sang-hee said Chun, accused of masterminding a 1979 coup and a 1980 army massacre in the southern city of Kwangju, should be given the maximum penalty.

He also asked the court to sentence Chun's successor Roh Tae- woo, who faces the same charges, to life in prison.

Roh is accused of playing a leading role in the coup and the massacre, which left 200 dead by official count when troops fired on pro-democracy demonstrators protesting against the imposition of full martial law in South Korea in May 1980.

Both men have also been charged with amassing millions of dollars in slush funds during their presidential terms. Chun ruled South Korea from 1980-88 and Roh from 1988-93.

The prosecutor told the court that Chun and Roh, both retired four-star generals, must be severely punished so that "this trial will serve as a historic landmark by showing that laws and justice rule this land".

He also sought fines of 283.9 billion won ($349 million) for Roh and 222.3 billion won ($273 million) for Chun for bribes they took from businessmen during their presidency.

The three-judge panel will sentence them on Aug. 19.

The prosecution also asked for prison terms of between 10 years and life for 14 former senior military officers for their roles in the coup and the massacre, one of the most traumatic events in the nation's modern history.

"It is the duty of our generation to settle the legacies of a wrongful past," prosecutor Kim said.

Chun and Roh have been on trial since last December as part of President Kim Young-sam's campaign to "put history to rights".

The public gallery burst into thunderous applauds when the prosecution demanded death sentence for Chun. The ex-presidents were often taunted with cries of "sons of bitches", "kill the bastard" and "execute the slaughterers".