Debate heats up on presidential office's handling of hecklers

Shin Min-ki, a spokesperson for minor progressive Justice Party’s Daejeon chapter, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Political debate is intensifying concerning the presidential office's handling of people who heckled during events that President Yoon Suk Yeol attended, with opposition parties comparing the government's reaction to that of a military junta.

Shin Min-ki, a spokesperson for the minor progressive Justice Party's Daejeon chapter, said Yoon should apologize and punish his security service personnel for their "excessive coercion" against him during a graduation ceremony held at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, Friday.

A presidential security agent covers the mouth of a student protesting at President Yoon Suk Yeol (not pictured) during the graduation ceremony at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, Friday. The student was Shin Min-ki, a spokesperson for minor progressive Justice Party’s Daejeon chapter. Yonhap

"I was forcibly removed even though I was not in a position to threaten the president," said Shin, a KAIST student who was removed from the ceremony by security guards after denouncing the Yoon administration's cuts to the country's research and development budget.

Shin said he was suppressed by security guards and muzzled as soon as he protested, was dragged out and detained in a room for 30 minutes before being sent to the police for a further investigation. A Daejeon police station has investigated him on charges of obstruction of work.

"I don't understand why the picketing constitutes a disturbance that needs to limit my freedom of expression," Shin said, adding that he is afraid of possible negative consequences in his job-seeking efforts.

A group of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) alumni hold a press conference in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Saturday, criticizing the presidential office's handling of a KAIST student who heckled President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech at the institution on Friday. Yonhap

On Saturday, a group of KAIST alumni held a press conference in front of the presidential office in Seoul and criticized the office's handling of Shin and the Yoon administration's R&D budget cuts.

The presidential office said in a statement that "the Presidential Security Service removed a heckler to ensure safety within a security area and to maintain order in the venue," and it was "an inevitable action in accordance with the law and security principles."

The removal came a month after presidential security officers dragged out Rep. Kang Sung-hee of the minor progressive Jinbo Party from an event Yoon attended on Jan. 18. At that time, Kang shouted at Yoon, urging him to change his political principles after having a handshake. The presidential office said the security guards removed Kang because Kang refused to let go of Yoon's hand.

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung said Monday that "the government and the ruling party are running state affairs with violence" and compared the incidents to the case of the Chun Doo-hwan administration's suppression of protestors in the 1980s.

Rep. Ko Min-jung, a member of the party's supreme council, also said that "the muzzling turned the graduation ceremony into a horrible scene" and "the action shows the characteristic of the Yoon administration."

On the other hand, ruling People Power Party floor leader Rep. Yun Jae-ok said Monday that the opposition is exploiting the case for its own political gain.

"Rep. Kang and spokesperson Shin planned to heckle the presidential event for their political gain," Yun said.

"It is nothing more than acts of disturbance which are politically motivated … As the oppositions mount criticisms, there are people saying the incidents remind them of creating a car accident for certain purposes."