Lee Ho-young, acting chief of the Korean National Police Agency, said on the 12th regarding the tip-off about an assassination plan against Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, “We will conduct a thorough investigation.”
The acting chief attended the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee meeting that day and noted, “There are quite a few incidents online where both (People Power Party and Democratic Party) leaders have received threats.” He also stated, “The Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Cyber Investigation Division of the Korean National Police Agency are actively launching investigations into such incidents.”
Democratic Party spokesperson Hwang Jeong-a met with reporters that morning and said, “There was a tip-off regarding recent threats to Lee's safety,” adding, “Many lawmakers received texts stating that there are plans to assassinate Lee Jae-myung using smuggled Russian pistols.”
He explained about the text message, stating, “The information came from a military officer with a background in the National Intelligence Service,” and added, “The text indicated that members of HID (the special forces affiliated with the National Intelligence Service) plan to assassinate Lee Jae-myung using smuggled Russian-made pistols.”
Spokesperson Hwang noted, “We received a message asking to do our best for the protection of the leader for the time being, so the party is considering a request for personal security for the leader.” She anticipated that security measures for Lee would be put in place as early as today, which means he will likely not participate in the scheduled Democratic Party march that day.