S Korean police arrest 457 activists at anti-government rally

Seoul: South Korean police say they have arrested 457 activists at a weekend rally criticising the government's labour policy.

Police said in a statement on Sunday that they arrested the activists on charges of using violence against police and damaging police buses and other equipment during a rally on Saturday in the central city of Daejon.

The statement said police sprayed water cannons to disperse activists who attacked riot police with bamboo sticks. The scuffle left about 100 police and 50 activists injured but none of them are in a life-threatening condition.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organised the rally, said it will launch a larger anti-government rally, calling the arrest "a provocation on democracy."