Speakers at the conference said it is unprecedented and evidently illegal that the "Intelligence Service" has treated those members as criminals though the facts about "crime" were not confirmed nor warrants for their arrest issued.

They declared that civic and public organizations including the South Headquarters of Pomminryon would form a "preparatory committee for the joint measure committee of civic and public organizations to counter the suppression of Pomminryon" and vigorously wage a joint counteraction.

A press release, read out at the conference, urged the court to clearly see through the reckless suppression by the IS and take a proper action against it.

Earlier on May 7, the action headquarters of the 17th-term south Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) made public a statement branding the authorities' wholesale suppression as a challenge to the whole nation desirous of independent reunification.

Hanchongryon will launch a stronger struggle for forcing the Lee Myung Bak regime to step down in face of the authorities' anti-reunification moves and stand in the van of the struggle to get the "National Security Law," an outdated evil law, abrogated in unison with the people from all walks of life, the statement declared.

The South Side Committee for Implementing June 15 Joint Declaration and its affiliated organizations released statements on May 8 denouncing the recent repression as a premeditated and intentional action of the Lee regime seeking to save itself from the ruling crisis by creating a new terror-ridden atmosphere.

They stated that all the non-governmental organizations for the reunification movement aspiring after inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation and reunification of the country strongly urge the Lee regime to stop at once the unreasonable suppression of the South Headquarters of Pomminryon.