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Five killed in South Korea during protest

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-20 11:58

SEOUL - Five South Koreans were killed on Tuesday when a five-storey building was engulfed in flames during a standoff between police and residents protesting demolition work in central Seoul, YTN cable news channel reported.

The five dead were all believed to be among the more than 40 tenants a witness earlier said were trapped inside the building, from the top of which several protesters had been throwing Molotov cocktails before fire started in the early hours of the day.

YTN television did not provide more details. Emergency rescue officials on the scene and reached by telephone were not immediately able to confirm the number of casualties.

"Policemen were firing water cannon onto the roof of the building where protesters were throwing down Mototov cocktails to resist a possible raid," said a photographer at the site.

The fire comes two days after the country's president, Lee Myung-bak, replaced his police chief who had been widely criticised for being too hard on anti-government protesters.

Lee, who has faced mounting criticism for the government's handling of the impact of the global economic meltdown, on Monday also made sweeping changes to his top finance officials.

By mid-morning, the fire had been mostly put out but police were blocking access to the building, in central Seoul and near a major US military base.

Police commandos were moving into the building to search for people inside and evacuate those who had managed to avoid the blaze and were on the rooftop chanting protest slogans, the witness said.

Dozens of tenants in the largely commercial Yongsan area, which is slated for major redevelopment, have been battling with police since early Monday to demand better compensation.