Debate is escalating over the violent protest during the prime minister’s visit to the potential site for a U.S. advanced missile system last week, with the ruling camp condemning the incident as a criminal act of violence and the opposition accusing the government of politicizing it.

The Saenuri Party demanded firm punishment against the violent protesters who they said came from other neighborhoods to incite illegal activities. The opposition parties in turn rebuked the government for cracking down on a legitimate protest.

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was pelted with eggs and water bottles during his visit on Friday to Seongju county, the southern rural town where the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense artillery unit will be deployed. The prime minister was also blocked for more than six hours by angry protesters.

Korea National Police Agency chief Kang Shin-myung said Monday that he received a report on evidence linking the violence to outside protestors. He said the authorities would determine whether there were any illegal activities and how far the out-of-town activists were involved in the incident.

“Violent activities staged by some protesters should be brought to justice,” said the Saenuri Party’s floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk. “Granting the residents the right to express their opinion is one thing, but allowing the outsiders to exercise violence is another,” he said.

The conservative party’s whip praised the Seongju residents for staying away from “outsider protesters,” many of whom, he claimed, consisted of antigovernment leftist activists. He urged the residents to prevent the activists from meddling in protests. 

The government has often blamed leftist activists for inciting violence in otherwise peaceful protests, such as the 2011 protest against the plan to build a naval base on Jeju island. Mindful of the criticism, Seongju county Gov. Kim Hang-gon pledged zero tolerance for outsiders’ interference.

Opposition parties voiced concern that the government is trying to crack down on what they view as a legitimate protest, accusing the authorities of spreading false rumors that the residents and protesters are linked to left-leaning rebellious activists. 

“Since the incident was caused by the public outrage (over THAAD), I’m asking the government to refrain from dealing with the incident as if they are investigating communists’ plot to overthrow the government,” said The Minjoo Party leader Rep. Kim Chong-in on Monday

The main opposition party leader also said that he has “serious doubt” on how sincere the government has been in communicating with the local people about the planned deployment of the controversial weapon system in the area.

The third-biggest People’s Party, who has set a stronger tone over the THAAD issue, turned up the heat on the government. Its chief policy strategist Rep. Kim Song-sik dismissed the effort to find the suspect behind the protest as a “misleading approach.”

Protests continued throughout the nation over the missile deployment.

A catholic group representing churches in Daegu and nearby cities on Monday held a mass for the anti-THAAD campaign and staged a rally at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province.

Seongju residents also vowed to take their protest beyond the rural area. The protesters are planning to gather in Seoul this Thursday to stage a massive rally to protest the deployment.

A local committee resisting the deployment, however, seemed to find difficulties in presenting a united front on the government’s crackdown on the violent protest. The committee’s co-chairmen differed over whether the Friday protest was affected by the outsider activists.

One of the co-chairmen Lee Jae-bok attributed the violence to the outsiders and apologized to the prime minster for causing the mishap, but the other co-leader Kim Ahn-soo claimed that the protest has no ties with outsiders and criticized the government for spreading false rumors.

In a move to reassure the residents, the defense minister Han Min-koo attended the meeting with local reporters on Monday. During the event, the minster reiterated that THAAD poses no health and environmental risk and that the government would find a way to offer assistance to the residents.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)