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The coalition seems bent on invoking a 2002 accident in which a U.S. Army vehicle ran over two middle school students in nearby Yangju by staging the rally around the fourth anniversary of the deaths. The incident occurred on June 13, but the committee scheduled the demonstration on Sunday, June 11 to enable more people to attend.

The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korean Federation of University Student Councils, the Democratic Labor Party and affiliated organizations that constitute the coalition plan for protests that draw some 10,000 participants, a government official said Tuesday.

The committee said the police blockade last weekend prevented its demonstrations then from being carried out “satisfactorily." "We are discussing plans to hold a candle vigil in Gwangwhamun and Pyeongtaek this weekend, and gather some 10,000 protestors for the demonstrations next month,” it confirmed.

Meanwhile, six lawmakers from the ruling Uri Party released a statement calling for the withdrawal of riot police from the Pyeongtaek site. “The presence of soldiers and riot police there resulted in unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding with the locals,” they said. “To minimize that, the government needs to withdraw them.” The six are Woo Won-shik, You Seung-Hee, Lee In-young, Im Jong-in, Jung Chung-rae and Choi Jae-cheon

“The government’s harsh responses made the issue even more difficult to deal with,” they added. “The matter should be solved through dialogue and persuasion rather than by physical means.” But Uri Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho distanced the party from the six, saying their call for the pullout of soldiers did not reflect the party’s official position. “They did not consult the party ahead of this irresponsible statement,” Woo said.

(englishnews@chosun.com )