Protests Against Former South African President Zuma's Detention Lead to Looting Affecting Korean Residents

In downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 11th (local time), police arrested protesters demonstrating against the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. The police reported that a total of 62 protesters were arrested across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Protests against the detention of former President Jacob Zuma in South Africa have continued for the fourth day, causing damage to the Korean community.

According to local news channels on the 12th, protests are taking place mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, the hometown of former President Zuma, and have spread to the economic hub Johannesburg, resulting in riots and looting.

In Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, the roof of a large shopping mall was engulfed in flames. In Johannesburg, footage showed a large supermarket being looted.

Damage to the Korean community has also occurred consecutively. The Korean Embassy in South Africa announced that around 90 and 120 unidentified individuals respectively broke into Korean-owned factories in the eastern Durban area around 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on the same day and looted them. Another Korean company also suffered looting damage around 8 a.m. that day.

The embassy is cooperating with local authorities to resolve the incidents and urged people to refrain from traveling in the Durban area and to suspend business operations as much as possible on that day.

This looting appears to be partly due to residents' hardships caused by the prolonged lockdown. Former President Zuma was detained after refusing to appear before the judicial commission investigating his corruption allegations during his tenure, as ordered by the Constitutional Court.

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