Dozens of KAIST alumni accuse presidential security of violence

KAIST alumni make their way to the National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Policy Agency in Seoul to file a complaint against presidential security, Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Dozens of alumni from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday accused the presidential security of abusing its power and exerting violence by forcibly removing a student from the graduation ceremony venue.

The bodyguards of President Yoon Suk Yeol ejected an attendee, named Shin Min-gi, from the ceremony in Daejeon when he protested the budget cut in scientific technology research and development for this year during Yoon's commencement remarks on Friday.

The alumni, comprising 26 people who graduated from KAIST, claimed that the presidential bodyguards had violated the Presidential Security Act because they "gagged a graduate, pushed him down and forcibly put him in custody."

The complaint was filed with the National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Policy Agency against the Presidential Security Service.

Kim Dong-ah, who represents the accusers, described the action as a "state violence committed against a citizen." Kim is an attorney at Ongil Law who seeks a parliamentary seat as a party member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

Also among the accusers were Kim Hye-min, another member of the Democratic Party seeking a parliamentary seat, and Joo Si-hyung, an industrial engineering professor at Chonnam National University based in Gwangju.

This came a day after Shin, one of some 3,000 graduates who attended the ceremony, told reporters in Daejeon he would work to prove that the security process had been excessive. Shin, a member of the minor progressive Green Justice Party, was forced out with his arms and legs lifted by bodyguards as he was holding a placard and spoke loudly to protest the budget cut.

Shin added the decision-making process that led to the R&D budget cut had been opaque. In December, the 2024 budget bill to cut state spending on national R&D by 15 percent was passed, with the total budget amounting to 26.5 trillion won ($19.8 billion).

The conservative bloc contended that Yoon's political adversaries had intentionally orchestrated the dispute.

Rep. Yun Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said Monday that Shin's action "resembles an insurance fraud where a fraudster deliberately causes a collision."

By Son Ji-hyoung(consnow@heraldcorp.com)