SECTION: International news
LENGTH: 543 words
BYLINE: PAUL SHIN
DATELINE: SEOUL, South Korea
BODY:
Three more former generals faced arrest Thursday in the government's efforts to punish those allegedly involved in an army massacre of civilians nearly 16 years ago.
Arrest warrants were expected to be issued later Thursday for the three. So far, 11 former army generals, including former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, have been arrested in connection with the massacre in the southern city of Kwangju in 1980.
The two former presidents face trial on charges of bribery, as well as insurrection and treason.
By official count, at least 240 people were killed and more than 1,800 others wounded when the military junta then in power brutally suppressed a pro-democracy uprising in Kwangju.
The latest prosecution move is against legislator Park Jun-byong, former Defense Minister Choi Se-chang and former chief presidential bodyguard Chang Se-dong.
''Prosecution charges filed against me in connection with Kwangju are largely exaggerated,'' Park said before being summoned by the prosecution.
Park, a retired four-star general, headed an army division in quelling the Kwangju rebellion.
Prosecutors said the three conspired with the two former presidents to stage a coup in 1979 and then bloodily cracked down on the Kwangju uprising several months later.
If convicted, they face up to life in prison.
Chun and Roh, childhood friends and later military buddies, were first arrested on corruption charges arising from massive bribes they allegedly took from businessmen in exchange for government contracts and favors.
Insurrection and treason charges were added later in connection with the coup and the massacre, the bloodiest in peacetime South Korean history.
They are the first ex-presidents to face legal action for alleged wrongdoing in office. If convicted, they could be sentenced to death, although that was considered unlikely.
In his continuing trial, Roh has admitted that he established a dlrs 650 million slush fund during in his 1988-93 presidential term but denied that the money was bribes from businessmen.
He has refused to be questioned by the prosecution or his defense lawyers, implying that the trial is politically motivated.
In contrast, his predecessor, Chun, said through lawyers that he would actively defend himself when his trial opens next Monday.
Chun already has admitted that he operated a dlrs 900 million slush fund during his 1980-88 term with ''donations'' from 42 businessmen.
He said some of the money was used to bankroll Roh's 1987 presidential campaign and government candidates in 1989 parliamentary elections.
Protesting what he called political persecution, Chun staged a 26-day hunger strike in prison in December and is now recuperating at a police hospital in Seoul.
Doctors said he is still frail and cannot sit for more than 30 minutes at a time.
The legal action came after current President Kim Young-sam declared a national campaign to clean up South Korean politics, which have been marred by corruption and successive coups.
Kim originally appealed to the nation to let history judge the Kwangju case but said later that he was forced to change his mind
because of the massive corruption involving his two predecessors.