Similar Vehicle Spotted Last Month in Daegu
No Effective Legal Measures for Punishment
A Mercedes-Benz vehicle with a Rising Sun flag attached, spotted in the Bukbyeon Intersection area of Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do. BobaeDream
A Mercedes-Benz with a Rising Sun flag attached has been spotted once again on a road in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. Last month, a similar vehicle was seen on a road in Daegu. While it is difficult to confirm whether it is the same vehicle due to the inability to check the license plate, the car was of the same color and model.
On December 2, a post titled "Rising Sun Flag Mercedes-Benz Spotted in Real Time in Gimpo" was shared on an online community. The attached photo showed a Mercedes-Benz SUV with a Rising Sun flag, identical to the one found in Daegu last month, though the flag was attached in a slightly different position.
The photo is believed to have been taken at the Bukbyeon Intersection in Gamjeong-dong, Gimpo. The person who reported the sighting said, "I never thought I would see something like this in real life after only seeing it on the news. At first, I thought I was mistaken, but after checking up close, I couldn't believe my eyes. It is truly regrettable that such things still happen."
Last year, there were reports of vehicles with Rising Sun flags in places such as Seo-gu, Incheon. In another incident, a resident of an apartment in Suyeong-gu, Busan, drew public outrage by hanging a large Rising Sun flag on their balcony on Memorial Day.
As the Rising Sun flag, a symbol of Japanese militarism, continues to appear in South Korea, some internet users have called for legal restrictions. However, no relevant laws have been established to date.
Some local governments have enacted ordinances restricting the public use of Japanese imperial symbols. However, these do not apply to private vehicles or personal spaces, making it difficult to impose effective sanctions in practice.
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