Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae, right, and rival People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok attend a lantern lighting ceremony on the lawn outside the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 30. [NEWS1]
The leaders of Korea's two main political parties will likely receive police protection earlier than expected ahead of the June 3 elections after authorities received reports of an alleged assassination plot targeting Democratic Party (DP) chief Jeong Cheong-rae, officials said Saturday.
Jeong and rival People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok were originally scheduled to be assigned police protection beginning May 21, when the official campaign period starts.
Authorities, however, decided to assign officers to protect the two leaders earlier after receiving reports of an alleged terror plot targeting Jeong.
The DP on Friday requested an investigation into what it described as coordinated threats circulating in unidentified social media group chats, including posts calling for Jeong's assassination.
According to the party, screenshots of social media posts containing phrases such as "Let's kill Jeong Cheong-rae" and "Recruiting members for an assassination squad to take out Jeong Cheong-rae" have been circulating online.
Some of the posts reportedly used a derogatory nickname for Jeong, suggesting they were aimed at him.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency assigned the case on Saturday morning to the Yeongdeungpo Police Precinct, which has already launched a preliminary inquiry.
Authorities said the identity of the suspect or suspects and the circumstances surrounding the alleged threats have yet to be determined.
The decision underscores growing concerns over political violence in Korea. President Lee Jae Myung was stabbed in the neck in Busan in January 2024 while he was still the leader of the DP.
Jeong condemned the threats and called on those involved to surrender themselves to the authorities.
"There is no crime worse than terrorism," Jeong said. "If there are people who planned or conspired to commit such a grave crime with such malicious intent, I hope they will voluntarily surrender to the investigative authorities, reflect on their wrongdoing, promise never to do such a thing again and appeal for leniency."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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