Democratic Party of Korea requests presidential security for Lee Jae-myung citing 'terrorist threats'

"Anti-Lee Jae-myung forces" are conspiring a terrorist attack against the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, according to a lawmaker who is co-leading Lee's campaign as a member of the party's supreme council, on Tuesday.

Rep. Kim Byung-joo convened a security meeting that same day, where he claimed that the "far right" and "sympathizers" of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's "insurrection against South Korea" were "plotting a terrorist attack against Lee."

He went on to suggest pulling agents from the Presidential Security Service to guard Lee, saying the "biggest threat to South Korea's security at the moment is terrorist threats" targeting the Democratic Party candidate.

Speaking at the same meeting, Choi Yun-ho, who was the second-in-charge in former President Moon Jae-in's protective team, said police protection of Lee may not be sufficient.

Choi cited terrorist attacks against then-US presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2024 and late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 to make a case for mobilizing PSS agents to bolster Lee's security.

However, the legal grounds for granting a candidate access to presidential security are unclear.

Kim claimed that "insurrection sympathizers and enablers have sought many ways to bring Lee down over the years," including a "recent attempt at a judicial coup." This seemed to allude to the Supreme Court's verdict that overturned an earlier ruling, which had found Lee not guilty of violating election laws.

"I think it's possible that these forces could resort to extreme measures in a bid to deal one last blow to Lee. The terrorist threats facing Lee are very real, and they shouldn't be overlooked," Kim said.

According to the National Police Agency on Monday, the police have received seven complaints about potential threats of a terrorist attack against Lee in the past week.