‘Troubled torch’ refused by two S Koreans in protest

The Chinese Olympic Committee had invited the pair to carry the torch.

“I hope my decision will help settle the bloody incidents in Tibet peacefully,” Choi said in a statement released by Green Korea. “The bloody incidents in Tibet run counter to the spirit of the Olympic Games.”

Park declined to comment to the media, but a senior researcher close to him at The Hope Institute said: “Park was asked to be a torch bearer but decided not to take the offer in protest to the incidents in Tibet.”

Yonhap news agency said a local citizen in Daejeon had also decided a month earlier to abandon his participation as a torch bearer for the same reason. The Korea Olympic Committee has declined to comment.

Beijing has been under pressure since its crackdown on unrest in Tibet in March following protests in the Himalayan region against Chinese rule.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people died in the crackdown, while China says Tibetan “rioters” killed 18 civilians and two policemen.

The global Olympic torch relay has been marred by protests against the Chinese crackdown in Paris, London and San Francisco, and the flame has been carried amid high security on its current tour through Asia.