SEOUL, Police on Monday requested an arrest warrant for 16 university students who were apprehended while attempting to break into the presidential office in central Seoul over the weekend, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said.

The 16 are among a group of 20 student activists who were caught after attempting to trespass at the presidential office compound in the Yongsan district at around 1 p.m. Saturday. All of them are said to belong to the Korean Progressive University Student Union, a controversial student activist group.

The KNPA said the arrest warrant was requested for 16 of them in consideration of their degree of participation in the crime and a history of similar types of offenses.

Before the attempt, the students had staged a protest outside the compound, demanding a special probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee and a meeting with presidential officials.

Source: Yonhap News Agency