"Making Noise While Drinking"... 60-Year-Old Arrested for Throwing Metal Bowl at Lee Jae-myung

Incheon District Court Issues Warrant Citing "Flight Risk"

Candidate Lee Jae-myung is looking up as a metal bowl thrown by a man in his 60s flies through the air.
[Yonhap News= Screenshot from YouTube channel Lee Jae-myung]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A man in his 60s who threw a metal bowl at Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate campaigning on the streets for the Incheon Gyeyang-eul by-election, has been arrested by the police.

The Incheon Gyeyang Police Station detained Mr. A on the 22nd on charges of election interference under the Public Official Election Act.

Judge Bae Gumin of the Incheon District Court conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Mr. A that afternoon and issued an arrest warrant, citing "risk of flight."

Before attending the warrant review, Mr. A responded to reporters' question, "Do you admit the charges?" with "Yes, I am sorry."

When asked, "What will you clarify during the warrant review?" he said, "I will explain that it was not intentional but accidental."

Mr. A is accused of throwing a metal bowl at candidate Lee while walking on the sidewalk outside a restaurant in Gyesan-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, at around 9:35 p.m. on the 20th, thereby disrupting the election campaign.

It was investigated that Mr. A, who was drinking with an acquaintance on the outdoor terrace of a first-floor restaurant, threw a stainless steel bowl used for chicken bones when candidate Lee passed by the store.

At the time, candidate Lee was conducting a street campaign with Yoon Hwan, candidate for Gyeyang District Mayor, and Jo Deokje, candidate for district council member. Although supporters and young students were nearby, fortunately, no one was injured.

In earlier police questioning, Mr. A stated, "It was noisy when candidate Lee passed by," and "I was drinking and felt bad."

A, who threw a metal bowl at Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate running in the Incheon Gyeyang by-election, is entering the Incheon District Court on the afternoon of the 22nd for a pre-trial detention hearing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]