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Teenager faces arrest for attack on forum
A pot and a bottle of sulfuric acid, confiscated by police after a teenager tried to attack participants of a public forum with them, are displayed with the suspect’s other belongings at Iksan Police Station in South Jeolla Province, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Kim Se-jeong
By Kim Se-jeong
Police sought an arrest warrant Thursday for a teenager after he reportedly threw a pot containing burning gasoline in a cathedral located in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, where a public forum about issues in North Korea was being held.
The two women targeted were Shin Eun-mi, 54, a Korean-American music professor, and Hwang Seon, 41, a former deputy speaker of the now-defunct Democratic Labor Party.
Both are regarded by conservative groups as sympathetic toward North Korea.
According to police, the 18-year-old high school student, surnamed Oh, walked into the venue carrying the pot and a small bottle of sulfuric acid. When obstructed by people, he threw the burning pot toward the stage.
Two people were injured and more than 200 people attending the show were evacuated, according to police.
Oh’s high school teachers told officers that he often visited websites operated by conservatives and showed ideological bias in conversations.
The attack came amid ongoing investigations by prosecutors of Shin and Hwang, which were launched after complaints from a conservative civic group. The organizers said they would cancel further forums scheduled for this month.
On Wednesday, police raided their homes and offices on suspicions that they violated the National Security Law. The police also banned Shin and Hwang from leaving the country.
Shin has traveled to North Korea six times since October 2011, and wrote a book, “Korea-American Ajumma goes to North Korea” in 2012 where she depicted her experience and interaction with ordinary people in Pyongyang.
Hwang traveled to Korea twice ― one in 1998 and another in 2005. During her trip in 2005, she had her baby born, which prompted many conservatives to accuse her of being a supporter of the repressive regime.
Some conservative groups say the teenager is a hero, and are urging authorities to stop Shin and Hwang from speaking about North Korea publicly.
Liberal pundits meanwhile say the incident was a form of“political terrorism.” Chin Jung-kwon, a professor at Dongyang University, wrote on his twitter page, “Although people say things that you don’t agree with, their freedom for speech should be respected. That is a principal of democracy.”