It was learned on the 19th that Im (19), who had been brought to trial over the graffiti incident on the Gyeongbokgung Palace wall that occurred in 2023, had his sentence finalized at a maximum of two years and a minimum of one year and six months. This means he will serve at least one year and six months in prison. When Im submitted a petition to withdraw his appeal to the Supreme Court last month, the sentence handed down by the appellate court was finalized as is.
Im was indicted without detention in June last year on charges of violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act after, at the instigation of Kang, a man in his 30s who operates an illegal video-sharing site, he scrawled graffiti on the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Dec. 2023. An investigation found that Kang contacted Im and others via Telegram to increase visits to the site he operates and solicited the crime by offering 100,000 won.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Im, who was 18 at the time, to a maximum of two years and a minimum of one year and six months in prison and took him into custody in court on the grounds of a "flight risk." Under the Juvenile Act, minors under 19 can be sentenced with maximum and minimum terms. After serving the minimum term, they may be eligible for early release before the maximum term expires based on correctional authorities' evaluation of their confinement. The first-instance court said, "Although young, he was old enough to understand the meaning and value of cultural heritage, yet he committed a very shocking crime."
Im appealed the first ruling, but the appellate court reached the same decision. Im also challenged the appellate ruling and filed an appeal on Jul. 28, but he withdrew it on Aug. 22, about a month later.
By contrast, Kang, who was indicted and detained on charges including violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act for instigating Im's crime, is awaiting a Supreme Court decision.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Kang to seven years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of about 210.28 million won. The first-instance court said, "Defiling Gyeongbokgung Palace, a symbolic cultural heritage, caused considerable social shock," and added, "Given that the crime was committed to generate revenue through users of an illegal site, there is a very high degree of blameworthiness in the motive and manner of the offense." Kang appealed the first ruling.
In the appellate trial, the sentence increased to eight years in prison. The appellate court said, "The Gyeongbokgung Palace wall that Kang targeted for the crime is of indescribable historical and academic value," and added, "The state spent approximately 180 million won in expenditure and mobilized hundreds of people over several months for restoration, but complete restoration proved impossible, leaving man-made traces." Kang also appealed the appellate ruling, and the case is under review by the Supreme Court's First Division.
Meanwhile, cultural heritage damage cases continued to occur even after this incident. The day after the Gyeongbokgung graffiti incident, an imitation crime occurred in which someone wrote the name of a particular singer and other words in red spray paint on the left-side stone wall of Gyeongbokgung's west gate. A man in his 20s arrested as the copycat offender was indicted for violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and received a finalized sentence of two years in prison, suspended for three years. In addition, a woman in her 50s who was brought to trial on charges of digging up part of Seolleung, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, on Aug. 14 last year was sentenced in the first trial to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.
Last month, a man in his 70s was arrested by police after writing graffiti with a black marker on the stonework at Gwanghwamun. According to the Korea Heritage Service, it cost about 10 million won to remove the graffiti. The Korea Heritage Service is reportedly reviewing legal action. Also on the 15th, part of the wall of Jongmyo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was damaged, and police have launched an investigation.
Article 92 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act stipulates that those who damage, steal, or conceal state-designated cultural heritage can be punished by imprisonment with labor for at least three years. In addition, under Article 82 of the same law, those who write, draw, or engrave letters or pictures on designated cultural heritage can be punished by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won.
Baek Se-hee, a cultural and arts specialist and managing attorney at Art& Law Office, said, "There seems to have been a lack of awareness and vigilance about criminal acts such as damage, under the notion that 'cultural heritage is not private property,'" adding, "However, as public interest in the importance of protecting cultural heritage has recently grown, courts have shown a tendency to apply legal principles more strictly than in the past and to toughen punishment."