Subtitled News: "Ruining Your Life by Mindlessly Joining In"... Why the Police Issued an Unprecedented 'Strong Warning'

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo has announced a stern response following a series of illegal acts by protesters at the Jamsil vote-counting station, including the unauthorized searching of personal belongings of ordinary citizens amid a shortage of ballots.

Referring to the incident where the Jamsil protesters searched the belongings of the women's youth national handball team, Commissioner Park stated today (June 15), "Because they demonstrated the power of a crowd, we applied the charge of special coercion rather than general coercion," noting that it carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

He warned, "The sentencing is extremely heavy," adding, "If you mindlessly join in on illegal activities alongside others and are charged as an accomplice, you could end up ruining your life."

The Seoul Songpa Police Station has identified three individuals who actively participated in searching the youth national team's belongings and has summoned one of them for questioning.

Currently, a total of 15 investigations are underway, including cases involving the search of personal belongings, assaults against journalists, acts of insult toward police officers on the scene, and physical altercations among the protesters themselves.

Commissioner Park stated, "Assaulting journalists is unacceptable," and added that they are currently tracking three individuals identified as active participants.

Regarding the situation where sports organizations under the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee have been unable to access their offices for 10 days due to the blockade of the handball stadium, which is being used as a vote-counting station, he stated that charges of obstruction of business will be applied to the protesters.

It is highly unusual for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner to use such strong language and explicitly mention the possibility of criminal punishment during a regular press briefing, suggesting that authorities have determined that the illegal acts by some of the Jamsil protesters have crossed the line.

President Lee Jae-myung also remarked during a meeting of senior secretaries held yesterday while on his tour of Europe, "Shouldn't we be dealing strictly with private inspections and acts of obstruction of business that mobilize force?"

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Ui-seon | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.