Controversy grows over archery event using photos of president, first lady

People are encouraged to shoot toy arrows at photos of President Yoon Suk Yeol, first lady Kim Keon Hee and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon during a liberal civic group's rally held in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Controversy is growing over an event arranged by a left-wing civic group, which allowed participants to shoot toy arrows at photos of President Yoon Suk Yeol, first lady Kim Keon Hee and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.

Critics said the event encouraged excessive hatred that is already prevalent in Korean society, noting that it should be taken seriously as even children were welcomed to participate.

The event was part of a rally held Saturday in central Seoul by a civic group calling for the resignation of the Yoon government and for a special counsel probe into stock manipulation allegations involving the first lady. Han, who was a senior prosecutor, is a close aide of Yoon.

“The prosecutor-turned-president has abused the prosecution's power all over the country, threatening the country's democracy,” said Rep. Lee Su-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who participated in the rally.

Some 2,000 people participated in the rally, according to the group.

During the rally, the group installed a booth with toy bows and arrows, along with dolls attached with photos of Yoon, Kim and Han as targets. Participants were encouraged to shoot the arrows at the targets.

The event stirred controversy after the group published related photos on its website the following day. These photos included the image of a young boy raising his hands to cheer in front of the targets.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party claimed that the expression of partisan antagonism “has crossed the line.”

“It is improper to encourage hatred and violence, especially in children,” the four-term lawmaker wrote on Facebook, Monday.

A similar sentiment was seen online.

One netizen wrote on Naver, “I do not support President Yoon either, but I think the event went too far.”

Another wrote, “The event reminded me of the photos published by North Korea in 2013 in which North Korean soldiers carried out a shooting exercise with a photo of Kim Kwan-jin, the defense minister at the time, as a target.”

While some people who stood by the civic group cited freedom of expression, an official from the group expressed a similar view.

“We are living in a democratic society. I think the event should be understandable and seen as satire,” the official said.