Pyeonsan Bookstore "Employee Assault, Hatred Fueled by Public Authority"

Board of Directors' Named Statement... Urgent Call for Thorough Fact-Finding

Former President Moon Jae-in's 'Pyeongsan Bookstore,' operated after his retirement, has called for a thorough investigation into the assault incident involving a bookstore employee.

On the 10th, Pyeongsan Bookstore released a statement on its official social media (SNS) under the name of the board of directors, revealing the details of the assault that occurred on the 8th and urging, "We hope the police will thoroughly uncover the truth of this incident, leaving no room for suspicion."

Former President Moon Jae-in and his wife. [Photo by Pyeongsan Chaekbang Instagram capture]

It continued, "At the time, a man in his 20s violently assaulted a female employee in her 40s who was about to leave work with punches and kicks, after asking, ‘Did Representative Lee Jae-myung come today?’ and saying, ‘I will not leave before meeting former President Moon Jae-in,’ to the employee who tried to stop him," adding, "A horrific assault filled with murderous intent lasted for a full eight minutes."

According to the statement, the victim suffered a broken left arm and fractures to her ribs and vertebrae. She also had a severe swelling on the back of her head. The bookstore explained, "The violence that started in the upper yard of the bookstore continued to the lower yard, outside the gate, inside the village alley, the wall of a house by the roadside, and even down to the field below the road. The attacker pushed her down twice, causing her to roll down the slope, and stomped on her with his feet." The assault only stopped after village residents gathered and intervened.

The bookstore expressed concern, stating, "We cannot help but worry that this assault incident coincides entirely with the period of shameless insults directed at the former president and his family in the name of public authority." They added, "We cannot erase our condemnation and concern that the root cause of such violence may be the structure of hatred and hostility nurtured by public authority, which leads to indiscriminate personal acts of hate violence." They raised their voices, demanding, "We take this opportunity to call for an end to all unjust political conspiracies and slanders aimed at former President Moon Jae-in."

Meanwhile, the man in his 20s who assaulted the employee at ‘Pyeongsan Bookstore’ in Habuk-myeon, Yangsan City, Gyeongnam Province, operated by former President Moon after his retirement, has been detained. Yangsan Police Station announced on the 10th around 8 p.m. that the court had issued an arrest warrant for the man, identified as A, citing "concerns over evidence tampering and flight risk."