A man in his 20s who was arrested by police on suspicion of threatening to kill Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and was released thanks to Oh's leniency has again posted a terror threat online targeting a disability rights group and is now under police investigation.
Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi said on the 9th that it booked a person identified as A without detention on suspicion of public intimidation and is investigating.
A is suspected of posting on the online community DC Inside on the 25th of last month, regarding the National Solidarity for the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Jeon Jang Yeon), messages such as "I will kidnap and kill Jeon Jang Yeon and its supporters."
Police launched an investigation after receiving a report from a netizen who saw the post and identified A's identity.
A also has a record of being arrested by police on Aug. 29 last year on suspicion of posting threats in the same community, including "I will throw Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon off the Seobu Expressway and kill him." A was released immediately after questioning at the time because Oh expressed a wish not to punish.
At the time, police applied the lesser charge of simple intimidation rather than public intimidation, considering that the target of A's threat was limited to Oh alone. Intimidation is a crime subject to non-prosecution at the victim's discretion, meaning the perpetrator cannot be punished if the victim does not wish it.
After being released, A continued making threats. In November of the same year, A posted a terror threat against the home of former President Chun Doo-hwan, but was not punished then either due to the victim's leniency.
Investigators found that A had previously received a suspended sentence from a court for repeatedly posting threats, including threats to set fire to the home of the perpetrator in the Apgujeong Rolls-Royce case in August 2023.
During the suspended sentence period, A was indicted on charges of making murder and arson threats against the Unification Church in March 2024 and against the Chinese Embassy in Korea in October of the same year, and is awaiting the court's ruling.
In a police interview, A admitted to the allegations but reportedly has not given a proper statement about the motive.