Prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants against organizers of candlelight vigils protesting the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.

The president of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, Choe Yul, and three others are accused of violating laws banning protest rallies after sunset. The prosecution's move came after the organizers of the mass rallies defied an earlier summons to appear before the prosecution for questioning.

Last week, the police declared the candlelight vigils illegal.

On Thursday, the government said it would launch a crackdown on the candlelight vigils, beginning April 2nd, the official starting date of the campaign for the April 15th general elections.

But organizers are reacting furiously to the government's pledge to break up the protests, calling it an unjustifiable suppression of the freedom of expression. They vowed to push ahead with another mass rally set for Saturday night as scheduled.

The massive, but largely peaceful, candlelight protests have been taking place almost every night in central Seoul since March 12th, when the opposition parties rammed an impeachment motion against President Roh through the National Assembly.