Police Identify One Jamsil Protester for 'Reporter Assault'... Summon Issued

The police have identified one of the participants in the protest blocking the ballot counting station at Jamsil as a suspect in the assault of a reporter covering the June 3 local election vote count, and have launched a full-scale investigation.

In front of the ballot counting center at the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, citizens are holding the door to block members of the People Power Party and the Korea Sports Council from entering. Photo by Yonhap News

On June 16, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul announced, "We have identified one suspect among those involved in the illegal acts, including the assault of a reporter at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu on June 5, and have requested their appearance for questioning." The police added, "We are taking the seriousness of this incident, which threatens the freedom of the press, very seriously and plan to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."

Previously, the JTBC branch of the Journalists Association of Korea stated that on the day of the incident, some of the protesters who blocked the Handball Gymnasium at Olympic Park, which was serving as the ballot counting station, assaulted one of their reporters as the reporter was leaving the site.

The victimized reporter claimed they were assaulted while trying to escape through a window after the entrance was blocked. Video footage showing a protester demanding the reporter "prove you are not an election commission staff member," striking the reporter with their hand, and throwing the reporter's mobile phone, has also spread online.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.