Acting Commissioner of Police "Agree that the Seobu District Court Assault Incident is a Riot"

Acting Commissioner of the National Police Agency Lee Ho-young stated on the 23rd regarding the Seoul Western District Court assault incident, "I agree that it was a riot for now, but whether it was spontaneous or planned needs to be investigated."

In the early morning of the 19th, as President Yoon Seok-yeol was arrested on charges of leading an insurrection, supporters stormed the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul. On the 20th, the signboard fallen at the back gate of the Western District Court in Mapo-gu, Seoul remains unattended. Photo by Jo Yong-jun.

During an emergency question session at the National Assembly that day, Lee responded this way when Oh Ki-hyung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asked, "(The Western District Court assault) was it a spontaneous riot?"

When Representative Oh mentioned the intrusion into the warrant judge's office and destruction of the CCTV server, asking, "Wasn't this planned in advance?" Acting Commissioner Lee said, "We are thoroughly investigating all of those aspects now."

Regarding criticism that the report to Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok was delayed, Lee explained, "Usually, the Commissioner of the National Police Agency does not report directly to the President. Reports are mainly made through the chain of command," adding that the report to the Presidential Office was made around 4:50 a.m. that day.

Regarding the criticism that "the police allowed the protesters to enter the building," Lee said, "When there was a risk of being isolated and attacked, we temporarily moved the units out of concern for injuries, then re-entered after putting on protective gear."

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