World IN BRIEF : SOUTH KOREA : Chun Challenges Law Targeted at Him

Former South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan, who has been charged with mutiny, formally challenged the constitutional validity of a special law enacted to punish him and his former aides. An official at the Seoul District Court said Chun’s lawyers filed an appeal with the court, requesting that it determine whether the special law violates the constitutional prohibition against retroactive legislation. Last month, the National Assembly passed the law sought by President Kim Young Sam to punish his two predecessors, Chun and Roh Tae Woo, over accusations that they led a 1979 mutiny and a brutal 1980 crackdown on dissent.