After people at a protest sparked by a shortage of ballots in the 9th nationwide local elections (June 3 local elections) began suspecting police officers of being Chinese public security or fake police, the Korean National Police Agency asked people to stop making groundless claims.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 8th, "Unverified speculation and posts defaming individuals—labeling police officers working at rallies and protests as 'foreign police' or 'fake police'—are spreading in some online communities and on social media (SNS)," adding, "We swiftly checked all cases in which suspicions were raised, and those individuals are police officers of the Republic of Korea performing their duties on site; the suspicions raised are not true."
The Korean National Police Agency added, "Please refrain from spreading baseless false information that undermines the morale of the 140,000 police officers nationwide who are quietly doing their utmost to protect public safety and that makes lawful enforcement difficult."
As protests continued for a fourth day in front of the Olympic Park Handball Arena in Songpa District, Seoul, where a ballot-counting site had been set up, a video spread of some protesters cornering a police officer from a mobile unit as a "Chinese." Another video circulated in which a protester grabbed a police officer by the arm while claiming the officer was a "pratchi (spy)."
However, regarding criticism that some employees' attire and conduct were inappropriate, the Korean National Police Agency said, "We will closely examine the situation and, through sufficient training, do our best to ensure police activities meet the public's expectations."