Police kicked off a probe Saturday into members of an online community, already under investigation in connection with an attack on a lower court, who are now suspected of conspiring to break into the Constitutional Court of Korea.
According to the police, they are currently tracking down individuals who posted on online community DC Inside’s “US Politics Gallery” about planning violent acts at the Constitutional Court.
Posts included uploading the floor plan of the Constitutional Court, where hearings for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial have been taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Media reports showed that an online community user posted “I did some exploration around the Constitutional Court’s premises today.”
Another wrote, “The walls around the Constitutional Court are low, so it seems easy to climb over if one decides to do so,” adding, “(If the police try to stop you) just say you're going to a nearby cafe or pretending to be visiting Bukchon (near the court).”
Other posts also showed that users had prepared ladders, baseball bats, and helmets, suggesting they were ready to carry out a plan for a violent incursion.
The users also called Feb. 13, the last designated hearing date of Yoon’s impeachment trial, as a "fudge delivery day," a play on words referrring to the 2013 US movie “The Purge” which depicts a 12-hour period in which all crime is legal.
“The location for delivery (of fudge) is in front of the Constitutional Court of Korea. We have enough in stock, so I hope many of you visit,” the user wrote.
The others commented “What’s wrong with the purge day? Isn’t that the day that we all most wanted? It’s the day we assassinate the Chinese,” referring to court justices they claimed were Chinese based on less common family names like Ji.
Some users even referred to the Jan. 19 mob attack — allegedly planned by the same online community to target the Seoul Western District Court — as merely a “preview.” The court was attacked by a group of protesters after an arrest warrant for President Yoon was approved. It left an estimated 83 injured and 87 arrested.
Though individuals have occasionally attempted personal attacks on judges out of resentment over rulings, the Seoul court attack had involved physical confrontations and the destruction of property at the court — the first time in 35 years that a crowd had stormed and vandalized court property.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court will hold the last two hearings of Yoon’s impeachment trial on Feb. 11 and 13. Whether they will end the hearings and release their ruling date or add extra hearings, have not been decided.
ddd@heraldcorp.com
