Moon Ik Hwan

South Korean authorities jailed two dissident leaders and questioned others about an illegal trip to Communist North Korea by a colleague, the Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, police reported. Opponents accused the government of using Moon's trip last week as an excuse to crack down on dissent, and students supporting him battled police in seven cities.

The Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, 76, leader of South Korea's pro-democracy movement. Moon was jailed five times for various dissident activities, including an unapproved visit to North Korea in 1989. He was released from prison last spring. Moon was a leader of the campaign opposing military dictators Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, who ruled South Korea in the 1970s and '80s. Democracy returned with the 1988 election of Roh Tae-woo as president. In Seoul on Wednesday of a heart ailment.

A South Korean dissident's unauthorized visit to North Korea turned more controversial with word that he met North Korean President Kim Il Sung and discussed reunification of the two Koreas. North Korean news reports said the Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, 71, and three others traveling with him attended a luncheon given by President Kim. Moon, a Presbyterian minister who has been jailed often, is a leading figure in South Korea's dissident movement.

Protesters from both right and left staged demonstrations Friday in Seoul amid increasing furor over a leading South Korean dissident's illegal visit to North Korea. Thousands of South Korean war veterans marched through the capital demanding the execution of Moon Ik Hwan, a 71-year-old Presbyterian pastor arrested when he returned from the visit Thursday. Students and dissidents staged demonstrations on more than a dozen South Korean campuses demanding Moon's release. Police used tear gas to subdue firebomb-throwing protesters.

Protesters from both right and left staged demonstrations Friday in Seoul amid increasing furor over a leading South Korean dissident's illegal visit to North Korea. Thousands of South Korean war veterans marched through the capital demanding the execution of Moon Ik Hwan, a 71-year-old Presbyterian pastor arrested when he returned from the visit Thursday. Students and dissidents staged demonstrations on more than a dozen South Korean campuses demanding Moon's release. Police used tear gas to subdue firebomb-throwing protesters.

The unauthorized visit of a South Korean dissident leader to Pyongyang, the capital of Communist North Korea, has sparked an uproar here and threatens to destabilize an already tense political situation. The Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, 71, shocked officials in Seoul by appearing in Pyongyang over the weekend after making a clandestine journey via Tokyo and Beijing.

The Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, 76, leader of South Korea's pro-democracy movement. Moon was jailed five times for various dissident activities, including an unapproved visit to North Korea in 1989. He was released from prison last spring. Moon was a leader of the campaign opposing military dictators Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, who ruled South Korea in the 1970s and '80s. Democracy returned with the 1988 election of Roh Tae-woo as president. In Seoul on Wednesday of a heart ailment.

A dissident pastor imprisoned for making an illegal trip to North Korea was furloughed Friday so he could visit his dying mother, officials said. The Rev. Moon Ik-hwan, 72, will be free for several days, the officials said.

A South Korean human rights activist, the Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of sedition and instigating anti-government demonstrations. Moon, a Presbyterian minister and leader of the United Masses Movement for Democracy and Unification, was accused of inciting an anti-government campus demonstration in which a student set himself on fire and jumped from a building. He was also charged with helping to organize a riot in Inchon last May.

Police today arrested a leading U.S.-educated cleric and accused him of inciting an anti-government demonstration in which a student set himself on fire and jumped to his death. Police also placed 130 student activists under house arrest to prevent them from attending a campus rally. The Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, 68, in police custody for his role in an anti-government and anti-U.S.

South Korean authorities jailed two dissident leaders and questioned others about an illegal trip to Communist North Korea by a colleague, the Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, police reported. Opponents accused the government of using Moon's trip last week as an excuse to crack down on dissent, and students supporting him battled police in seven cities.

A South Korean dissident's unauthorized visit to North Korea turned more controversial with word that he met North Korean President Kim Il Sung and discussed reunification of the two Koreas. North Korean news reports said the Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, 71, and three others traveling with him attended a luncheon given by President Kim. Moon, a Presbyterian minister who has been jailed often, is a leading figure in South Korea's dissident movement.

The unauthorized visit of a South Korean dissident leader to Pyongyang, the capital of Communist North Korea, has sparked an uproar here and threatens to destabilize an already tense political situation. The Rev. Moon Ik Hwan, 71, shocked officials in Seoul by appearing in Pyongyang over the weekend after making a clandestine journey via Tokyo and Beijing.