Black Spray Paint on Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's Grave... Suspect Not Caught for a Month

Police Analyzing CCTV and More... Still at a Standstill After a Month

The police investigating the vandalism of the late Park Won-soon, former mayor of Seoul, have been searching for suspects for a month but are facing difficulties.

Earlier, on August 28, an incident occurred where someone vandalized the tomb of former Mayor Park Won-soon at the Namyangju Moran Park Democratic Martyrs' Cemetery with black spray paint. Other parts of the tomb, except for the tombstone, were not damaged.

The tomb of former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the Democratic Martyrs' Cemetery in Moran Park, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, was vandalized with black spray paint, and the police are investigating. The photo shows the damaged tombstone covered on the 29th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

It has been about four months since Park's tomb was relocated to Moran Park Cemetery. The police are narrowing down and tracking the movements of people who entered and exited the Moran Park Cemetery around the time of the incident.

However, there is no CCTV directly covering the scene of the incident, so it is difficult to track suspects due to the lack of clear clues.

A police official stated, "We have analyzed all the CCTV in the area to identify people possessing suspicious items or exhibiting unusual behavior."

Park's tomb has suffered hardships over time.

After being accused of sexual harassment in 2020 and passing away, the late Park requested in his will to be cremated and have his ashes scattered at his parents' grave. Accordingly, on July 13 of that year, he was buried in his hometown, Seonyeong, Jangma-myeon, Changnyeong-gun.

About a year later, on September 20, 2021, a man in his 20s dug up the central part of Park's tomb with a shovel.

At that time, Park's family stated, "Regardless of personal opinions about the deceased, vandalizing a grave is an act no human should commit," adding, "Since this is not the first time, the shock to the family is indescribable." They further said, "If the perpetrator does not surrender immediately, we have already requested a police investigation and will ensure they are found and severely punished."

Subsequently, Park's tomb was relocated by the family to the current Moran Park in April.

At that time, conservative groups including the People Power Party criticized the move as "an act of desecrating a democratic sacred site." Civic groups also urged to stop the relocation, calling it "secondary harm by the family attempting to restore the honor of Park, who committed a sex crime, by comparing him to democratic martyrs."