Suspect in Lee Jae-myung Terror Threats Now Warns of Bombings at Four Locations Including Namsan Tower

Terror Threats at Four Locations Including the National Museum of Korea

The suspect who threatened terrorism targeting Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has sent a threatening email this time claiming to bomb Namsan Tower and the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

According to the police, at around 10 a.m. on the 9th, a report was received by 112 stating that an email was received saying, "I will blow up the National Museum of Korea, the Japanese Embassy, Namsan Tower, and the Japanese school." The police identified that the sender, recipient, and the internet address (IP) from which the email was sent were all the same as those of the terror threat email against Lee Jae-myung sent on the 7th.

The email sent on the 7th from a Japanese account to Seoul city officials and others included phone and fax numbers and stated, "Yamauka Yuuaki of Yakuo Law Office has planted a time bomb," and "Assassinate Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. If not assassinated by 15:34 on August 9, the time bomb will explode." After receiving the report, the police deployed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and detection dogs to search the targeted locations, but no explosives were found. That afternoon, members of the World Scout Jamboree Denmark and Norway teams, who had returned early from Saemangeum, visited the exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

Denmark and Norway scout members participating in the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree are visiting the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 9th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, based on the email account and content, believes the two threatening emails were sent by the same individual and requested cooperation from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to identify and apprehend the suspect. The investigative authorities of both countries have agreed to share investigation materials and proceed with criminal justice cooperation procedures.

The police are also considering issuing a red notice through Interpol if the suspect’s whereabouts are unclear or if it is confirmed that they are in a country other than Japan.

Both emails were sent from an account in the name of a real law office in Japan. In Japan, phishing crimes involving the theft of lawyer or law office accounts to send emails are rampant. There is a possibility that the two threatening emails recently sent to Korea also involved account theft.

At around 7:37 a.m. on the same day, a report was received about two unidentified boxes near the restroom at City Hall Station on the Seoul subway, prompting police and fire authorities to respond. The boxes contained donuts. During this process, exits 4 and 5 of City Hall Station were temporarily closed.

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