Man in His 50s Referred Without Detention for Kicking Vehicle Carrying Jeong Cheongrae

Investigation Included Forensic Analysis of Mobile Phone; No Evidence of Conspiracy Found
No Tools Discovered, Charged with Simple Property Damage

A man in his 50s who damaged a vehicle carrying Jeong Cheongrae, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, by kicking it has been referred to the prosecution.

Yeongdeungpo Police Station, Seoul. Photo by Jiye Lee

On September 3, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced that it had sent Mr. A, a man in his 50s, to the prosecution without detention on charges of property damage.

According to the police, Mr. A is accused of damaging a vehicle carrying the former leader Jeong by kicking it in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, at around 7 p.m. on July 20. At the time, Jeong was preparing to leave after attending a joint briefing on the preliminary primary for the election of the party leader and top committee members.

Mr. A voluntarily appeared at Yeongdeungpo Police Station the day after the incident to be questioned by the authorities. Immediately after the incident, Jeong requested via social media that strict punishment be imposed and that the police thoroughly investigate if there was anyone behind the crime. As a result, the police examined Mr. A’s mobile phone and looked into the possibility of conspiracy or premeditation, but found no relevant evidence and concluded it was a spontaneous act.

There were suspicions raised at the time that Mr. A may have used a separate tool to strike the vehicle, but the investigation did not find any tools involved in the crime. Based on these findings, the police applied the charge of simple property damage rather than special property damage.

A police official stated, “We conducted a multi-faceted investigation, including forensic analysis of the mobile phone, but as there was no evidence of conspiracy, premeditation, or any exceptional circumstances, we determined it was an impulsive act.” The official added, “We cannot confirm whether the suspect is a member of the party or provide specific details on the motive, as such information contains personal and sensitive matters.”

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