Suspect Sought for 'Free Movie' Graffiti on Gyeongbokgung Palace Wall (Comprehensive)

Berlin Wall Graffiti Artist Fined 5 Million Won
Up to Maximum Prison Sentence Possible Under Cultural Heritage Protection Act

The police are tracking a suspect after a report that phrases reminiscent of illegal video sharing sites were spray-painted on the wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

According to Jongno Police Station on the 16th, at around 2:20 a.m. that day, a report was received that graffiti had been spray-painted on the west wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace near the National Palace Museum, prompting police to respond.

Graffiti-damaged wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Photo by Yonhap News, provided by reader

At the scene, phrases such as "free movies" were spray-painted in red and blue, along with wording that evoked illegal video sharing sites.

The police are reviewing nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to track the suspect and are considering whether charges under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act can be applied.

If the suspect is prosecuted under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act rather than for damage to public property, they could face a maximum prison sentence.

A similar case occurred on June 6, 2018, when the "Berlin Wall" installed on Cheonggyecheon-ro in Jung-gu, Seoul, was vandalized with graffiti.

At that time, Mr. A, who identified himself as a graffiti artist, claimed he acted to convey a message about the present and future of the divided nation of the Republic of Korea and posted photos of the vandalized Berlin Wall on Instagram, drawing criticism from netizens.

Mr. A was fined 5 million won in a first-instance citizen trial for damage to public property and received the same fine upon appeal.

Mr. A argued that the Berlin Wall was not an item used by a public office and thus did not qualify as public property, and that since some graffiti already existed on the wall, his graffiti did not diminish its utility; however, the court did not accept this argument.

Recently, a former private museum director who hid stolen Buddhist cultural assets in poor conditions for over a decade was sentenced to prison with a suspended sentence for violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act. However, in the case of the former museum director, factors such as having majored in history at university, operating a museum for a long time, and being aware that the cultural assets were stolen, as well as having been sentenced three times for similar offenses, influenced the judgment.

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