"Park Geun-hye Impeachment Invalid," "Military Dictatorship Now" - Current 'Political Posts' Cause Turmoil [Han Reporter Goes]

Political Messages Written on Urban Facilities
'Park Geun-hye Impeachment Invalid', 'Let's Have Dictatorship', 'Participatory Government Was Better' etc.
Civilians Point Out "Public Facility Damage, Discontent with Political Writings"

On the afternoon of the 4th, political writings were found on a facility installed at a crosswalk in a busy area of Seoul. Photo by Han Seung-gon hsg@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Let's have military dictatorship!", "Park Geun-hye impeachment is a scam!", "The Participatory Government was better."

Recently, political messages have been written on facilities in busy downtown Seoul, causing dissatisfaction among citizens. There are criticisms that public facilities are being damaged and that one-sided political claims are being openly exposed, which could lead to social controversy. The political messages mainly include claims that the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye is invalid and calls for military dictatorship. All of these are not true and lack any basis.

The problem is that such writings continue to appear throughout the city. Citizens find it incomprehensible and absurd.

Kim, a company employee in his 40s whom we met near Euljiro in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, "I happened to see the writing while waiting at a crosswalk signal, and the content was so absurd," adding, "I don't know who would believe such writing as it is, but honestly, it made me feel a bit bad." He continued, "Although the content is ridiculous, the person who wrote it probably truly believes it."

Another office worker in his 40s, Lee, criticized the damage to facilities. Lee said, "It's not like they wrote what they want to say on paper and posted it; they are scribbling on crosswalk signal operation facilities and transformers, which looks really bad," adding, "I even saw cases where large graffiti was drawn on store shutters." He criticized, "Someone will have to erase such graffiti, but it seems they only think about themselves."

Under a bus stop in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul, the phrase "Sagi Impeachment Invalid" is written. Photo by Han Seung-gon hsg@asiae.co.kr

Park, a job seeker in his 20s, said, "The claim that Park Geun-hye's impeachment is invalid is too absurd. She was dismissed by the Constitutional Court, so is she still believed to be the president?" adding, "Supporting politicians is fine, but this is a bit much."

As citizens pointed out, Park's dismissal took place on March 10, 2017. On that morning at 11 a.m., the Constitutional Court held the ruling session for the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye and unanimously decided to dismiss the president with all eight justices in agreement.

At that time, Lee Jung-mi, acting president of the Constitutional Court, confirmed the order to "dismiss the respondent President Park Geun-hye" in the impeachment ruling. This was the first dismissal of a sitting president in the history of the Republic of Korea's constitutional government.

On the morning of March 10, 2017, the day of the impeachment trial verdict for President Park Geun-hye, citizens are watching the live broadcast of the impeachment trial in the waiting room of Seoul Station. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Such political messages can also be easily seen near the subway ventilation grille frame in front of Bosingak at Jonggak Station in Seoul, a place where rallies are frequently held. Most of the writings are baseless and one-sided political claims such as "Pardon Park Geun-hye," "Impeachment is invalid," and "Moon Jae-in government step down." The locations where these writings appear are diverse, including near crosswalks, above-ground transformers, and bus stops, without discrimination.

In particular, the frequent appearance of such writings on facilities next to crosswalks seems to be intended to expose the messages to more people considering the flow of pedestrians. However, as citizens pointed out, such acts of graffiti on public facilities are all illegal.

According to current law, writing on building walls and public facilities without permission can be punished as property damage. If charged with property damage, one can face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 7 million won.

Meanwhile, an expert analyzed that those who write such messages are sincere and are performing what they believe to be the best political act.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "Those who write such messages can be seen as doing the best they can," and regarding the claim that "Park Geun-hye's impeachment is invalid," he analyzed, "Supporters are sincere. They hold the same level of respect not only for Park Geun-hye but also for Park Chung-hee." He added, "They are the so-called 'concrete supporters,' a support base that can be seen as a kind of faith."

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