"Where Are You Crawling Out?" Verbal Abuse to Moon Couple, Threats with Blades by Officials... Pyeongsan Village Protester Arrested

Court: "Risk of Evidence Destruction and Flight"
First Lady Kim Jung-sook Personally Visits Police Station to Submit Complaint
One of the Pyeongsan Village Protesters Who Filed a Complaint Last May

Former President Moon Jae-in and his wife are greeting people at their residence in Pyeongsan Village, Habuk-myeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam Province, on the afternoon of May 10.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gun-chan] A protester in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, who threatened former President Moon Jae-in and his wife and threatened a secretary office official with a weapon, has been detained.

Ulsan District Court (Chief Judge Choi Woon-sung) announced on the 18th that it conducted a pre-arrest hearing (warrant review) for Mr. A (65), who had been conducting a one-person protest in Pyeongsan Village, where former President Moon's residence is located, and issued an arrest warrant.

The court stated the reason for issuing the warrant was "concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk."

Mr. A is accused of threatening a secretary office official with a weapon (special threat) on the roadside in front of former President Moon's residence on the morning of the 16th.

He is also accused of threatening (threat) former President Moon and his wife while they were taking a walk near the residence on the afternoon of the 15th.

Police officers from Yangsan Police Station in Gyeongnam arrested a long-term solo protester at Pyeongsan Village on the 16th on charges of special intimidation for causing a disturbance by threatening a former presidential secretary of Moon Jae-in with a box cutter.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At that time, Mr. A reportedly made insulting remarks such as "How dare you crawl out without fear" to former President Moon and his wife.

In response, Kim Jung-sook, the wife of former President Moon, visited Yangsan Police Station and filed a direct complaint against Mr. A.

According to the police, Mr. A was also found to have threatened village residents with scissors during the administrative enforcement to dismantle the protest tent in front of the residence on the 20th of last month.

The charges applied to Mr. A by the police reportedly include insult and assault as well.

Since former President Moon's retirement in May, Mr. A has continued a one-person protest criticizing him in front of the residence in Pyeongsan Village. Mr. A is one of the four Pyeongsan Village protesters whom former President Moon filed complaints against for insult and threat charges at the end of May.

At that time, former President Moon, through a representative, filed a complaint with the police, stating, "Not only is the daily life of the residents being destroyed, but even a healthy life is threatened, making it truly a matter of survival."