Graffiti-Executing High School Student Sentenced to Maximum Two Years, Minimum One Year and Six Months in Prison
Kang, a 31-year-old known as "Manager Lee," who orchestrated graffiti on the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace to promote an illegal video-sharing website, has received a heavy sentence again in his appeal trial.
A man in his 30s who incited teenagers to graffiti on the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, in May 2024 to attend a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing). Photo by Yonhap News
On July 25, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 11-1 (Presiding Judge Park Jaewoo) sentenced Kang to eight years in prison on charges including violation of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and the Act on Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, imposed a five-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities, and ordered the forfeiture of approximately 198 million won.
In December 2023, Kang was convicted in the first trial for giving 100,000 won to a high school student surnamed Lim (19) and instructing him to spray graffiti containing the address of Kang's illegal website on the walls of Yeongchumun Gate at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Palace Museum of Korea, and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was separately indicted and sentenced to one year in prison for concealing profits from illegal gambling site advertisements. The two cases were merged and reviewed together in the appeal trial.
The court stated, "The defendant instructed a minor to commit graffiti for extremely personal and illegal purposes, and caused similar crimes on the walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, resulting in national and social shock. By causing graffiti with paint on the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which has immense historical and academic value, a large-scale restoration effort involving hundreds of personnel and significant tax funds was required, but artificial traces remain and complete restoration was impossible."
The court further noted, "He induced access to websites containing others' copyrighted works, illegal recordings, and child and adolescent sexual exploitation material, then profited through illegal gambling site banner advertisements, and disguised and concealed these proceeds with accomplices. The criminal proceeds exceeded 255.2 million won."
Lim, who carried out the graffiti, also received the same sentence as in the first trial: a maximum of two years and a minimum of one year and six months in prison.
Meanwhile, after being arrested in May last year, Kang briefly escaped during a break in questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency but was apprehended again about two hours later.
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