Four Members of Yoon Support Group Referred to Prosecutors for Tearing Banner with Chinese Ambassador's Face

Tore Five-Star Red Flag and Xi Jinping Banner at July 22 Rally
Police Summons in August, Referred to Prosecutors in November
"Would It Have Been the Same With the Stars and Stripes?"
Questions Raised Over Fairness

Anti-China rally near the Chinese Embassy in Myeongdong, Seoul. Unrelated to specific article content. Yonhap News Agency

Men who tore a Chinese national flag (Five-Star Red Flag) banner bearing the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming during a rally near the Chinese Embassy in South Korea have been referred to prosecutors.

On November 24, Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul announced that four men (three in their 20s and one in his 40s) were sent to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention on November 14 on charges of insulting a foreign envoy.

The men are reportedly affiliated with "Freedom University," a group supporting former President Yoon Suk Yeol. On July 22 at around 8 p.m., they held a "Rally to Condemn and Monitor Election Fraud" near the Chinese Embassy in Jung-gu, Seoul, during which they were confirmed to have torn a Chinese flag banner printed with the faces of President Xi Jinping and Ambassador Xing Haiming.

Initially, the police identified three suspects, but an additional individual was found during the investigation. Article 108 of the current Criminal Act stipulates that insulting or damaging a foreign envoy residing in South Korea is punishable by up to three years in prison or imprisonment without labor.

When it became known in August that the suspects had received a summons from the police, some online communities and social networking services (SNS) saw a series of posts raising concerns about fairness.

Netizens commented, "People are immediately booked for tearing the Five-Star Red Flag, but would it be the same if it were the Stars and Stripes?" and "I've seen countless instances of the Stars and Stripes being torn at rallies, but not once have the police intervened."