Security beefed up at Constitutional Court over mob attack threats

Security surrounding Korea's top court has been heightened as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial nears its final stage and police investigate threats of a break-in at the court in connection with the mid-January attack on a lower court.

The Constitutional Court of Korea held its seventh hearing Tuesday, the penultimate of the eight hearings scheduled by the court regarding Yoon’s martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.

Tuesday’s hearing was also the first to take place since police on Saturday began an investigation to track down individuals who appeared to be plotting mob attacks at the Constitutional Court. Posts on the online community DC Inside’s “US Politics Gallery” included a floor plan of the Constitutional Court as well as users writing that they had prepared ladders, baseball bats and helmets, suggesting they were ready to carry out violent acts if necessary.

Amid the ongoing police investigation into the online posts, more than 2,700 personnel from 46 police units and 140 buses were deployed near the court to restrict traffic on roads and sidewalks from Tuesday morning. Authorities have also installed barricades and artificial panels to block the view of the Constitutional Court and restrict pedestrian access.

Though Korea’s top court could schedule more hearings, the eighth and last hearing in Yoon's trial is scheduled for Thursday.

Users of the DC Inside community have designated Thursday as “fudge delivery day,” a play on words referencing the 2013 US movie “The Purge,” which depicts a 12-hour period in which all crime is legal. In response, police announced that security measures could be heightened over the next few days to prevent incidents similar to the Jan. 19 mob attack at the Seoul Western District Court.

Security measures have also been heightened for the Constitutional Court justices.

All eight justices are now accompanied by fully armed officials during their commute to and from the court, as patrols around the justices’ residences have significantly increased as well.

Though the head of the Constitutional Court usually receives full-time protection, this is the first time all judges have received individual protection since the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.