Court Employee in His 50s Detained on July 16
Repeated Illegal Protests Across South Jeolla Province
Spread of False Information and Personal Attacks Against Local Officials
Repeatedly Evaded Police Summons
A man in his 50s, a court employee who was arrested on defamation charges against Yoon Byungtae, mayor of Naju City, on the 16th, is seen protesting. Photo provided by reader
A court employee in his 50s, notorious for causing disturbances in South Jeolla Province by staging so-called "nitpicking" protests, has been arrested. Although the official reason for his arrest was his refusal to comply with police summons, the arrest came as a result of the accumulation of various illegal protests and the dissemination of false information over time.
According to Naju City, Naju Police, and the Gwangju District Court on July 17, the court issued an arrest warrant on July 16 for Mr. A, a court employee in his 50s affiliated with a branch of the Gwangju District Court. He faces charges of defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act, violations of the Public Official Election Act, and violations of the Assembly and Demonstration Act.
Since the beginning of this year, Mr. A has persistently staged illegal protests, raising suspicions of election crimes involving Yoon Byungtae, mayor of Naju City, and bringing up issues such as the dismissal of contract employees at organizations under Naju City.
In particular, Mr. A was found to have continued illegal protests by producing and displaying banners with harsh slogans in public spaces used by many people, such as Naju City Hall, where both citizens and public officials frequently pass through.
Mr. A, who graduated from a prestigious domestic university known for its police education and is currently employed as a court official, has described himself as a legal expert and has consistently raised issues concerning local affairs. Under the pretext of "correcting illegal acts," he gained notoriety for teaming up with some local civic groups to target minor mistakes or administrative errors by heads of institutions in Mokpo, Muan, Naju, and other areas, staging "shaming" protests in front of their homes using loudspeakers.
He also frequently violated the political neutrality required of public officials by posting politically charged statements and writings on social media and other online platforms.
Until recently, Mr. A has pressured Naju City by raising claims such as "unfair dismissal of contract employees at the Naju City civil complaint call center," "infringement of residents' health rights due to solar power facilities in Seji-myeon," and "disguised closure and unfair dismissal of contract employees at the former youth training center management organization."
It is reported that most of these allegations were found to involve "no legal violations" following investigations by higher authorities such as the Labor Office and South Jeolla Province, yet Mr. A continued his protests regardless.
When Naju City did not respond, Mr. A expanded the scope of his protests by adding entirely unfounded claims, such as accusing Yoon Byungtae, mayor of Naju City, of violating election laws. He also spread these false claims on online community bands used by large numbers of people.
It was also reported that Mr. A verbally abused and insulted Yoon Byungtae, mayor of Naju City, as he was on his way to work.
After these actions became formal criminal cases, Mr. A repeatedly ignored police summons and evaded investigation. He has been described as a textbook example of a "legal eel," a term often used in comparison to Yoon Sukyeol.
Ultimately, the police executed an arrest warrant to take him into custody and then applied for and obtained a detention warrant.
An official from a local government agency commented, "Because one-person protests do not require assembly notifications, they can be carried out without much restriction. The person who was arrested this time was already well-known in the local community. He exaggerated minor mistakes, turned lies into facts, and called it fake justice. I hope he now realizes that the real law is something different."
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