Various sectors of society issued a number of statements criticizing the government on Wednesday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the June 1987 pro-democracy movement.

Some 880 lawyers and law professors issued such statements Wednesday morning as a so-called "defense of human rights and democracy."

They accused the government of utilizing oppressive state power and threatening the constitutional foundations of democracy and human rights. They urged President Lee Myung-bak to apologize for the methods used by the prosecution in its investigation into former President Roh Moo-hyun’s involvement in a bribery scandal --- methods which, they say, caused Roh severe mental anguish and prompted the former president to commit suicide. The lawyers and professors also urged new measures to prevent the abuse of prosecutorial power.

In addition, nearly 160 professors from Yonsei University, 67 from Inha and 60 from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies also issued statements calling for an overhaul of governance.

A number of student organizations from Seoul National, Kyunghee, Chung-ang and SungKongHoe universities have also issued anti-government statements.

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