Profanity Vandalism on Banner of Lawmaker Kim Sang-wook Who Supported Impeachment

Kim Sang-wook, a member of the People Power Party (PPP) representing Nam-gu Gap, Ulsan, who revealed that he voted in favor of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, was subjected to an obscenity attack on a banner posted in his constituency.

According to the Ulsan Police Agency and Kim Sang-wook’s office on the 17th, a police officer on patrol discovered red-colored obscenities written on Kim’s banner installed on the traffic island at Gongyeoptap Rotary in Nam-gu, Ulsan, Yonhap News reported on the same day.

A banner of Assemblyman Kim Sang-wook with red profanity written on it. Photo by Yonhap News

The banner, with black letters on a white background, reads "We deeply, deeply apologize for the martial law tragedy" and was installed by Kim’s office on the afternoon of the 14th, the day the impeachment motion against President Yoon was passed. Currently, the banner has red spray-painted obscenities saying "Get lost 000."

The police are investigating the suspect who vandalized the banner through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the scene.

Kim was one of the 18 PPP lawmakers who joined in lifting the martial law on the 3rd, when the emergency martial law was declared. During the first impeachment vote on the 7th, he left the chamber following party instructions but later returned to participate in the vote, stating that he opposed the impeachment motion in line with the party’s stance. Afterwards, Kim held a one-person protest supporting the impeachment while wearing the outer garment he wore when the martial law was lifted. In the second impeachment vote on the 14th, he broke party lines and voted in favor of President Yoon’s impeachment.

On that day, Kim attracted attention by not leaving immediately after the impeachment motion was passed but instead staying seated for a while with his head bowed in apparent distress. After the plenary session, he told reporters, "The ruling party’s president was wrong, and the ruling party lawmakers removed him," adding, "I apologize to the people, and I hope this incident becomes an opportunity for the maturation of democracy in the Republic of Korea. I hope such a thing never happens again."

While some supported and cheered Kim for publicly expressing his pro-impeachment stance, conservative supporters opposing the impeachment criticized him as a "traitor." In response, on the 16th, Kim refuted the "traitor" label directed at him through his social media, stating, "Yoon Suk-yeol, who destroyed the constitutional order through emergency martial law and directly damaged conservative values, is the real traitor." He emphasized, "Now we must rebuild conservatism," and added, "The People Power Party stands at a crossroads: whether to become a minority far-right fascist unconstitutional party or to be reborn as a legitimate conservative party pursuing conservative values."

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