SEOUL, April 22 – Two South Koreans slated to run in the Olympic torch relay in Seoul said Tuesday they would boycott the event to protest China’s crackdown in Tibet.
The announcement followed a comment Monday by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during an appearance on a Japanese talk show that he would attend the Aug. 8 opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Some world leaders have said they might stay away.
The two South Korean torch runners a lawyer and an environmentalist said they would not carry the Olympic flame during Sunday’s run.
“The decision was unavoidable and it has been determined that the Tibetan crisis counters the spirit of the Olympics,” said Choi Seung-kook, secretary-general of the major environmental group Green Korea, who dropped out of the run.
Park Won-sun, a lawyer who heads the Seoul-based civic group and think tank Hope Institute, also will not participate in the relay because of the Chinese government’s crackdown in Tibet, institute official Park Eun-ju said.
