Four face charges after tearing images of Chinese leader, envoy

Chinese President Xi Jinping (Yonhap)

Seoul police officials said Monday they have transferred to the prosecution the case of four men who tore a banner displaying the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing.

The suspects, three in their 30s and one in his 40s, are members of a group supporting impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The group on July 22 held a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul decrying what they claimed to be election rigging by the liberal bloc, during which they destroyed the banner.

A possible charge against them would be a violation of Article 108 of the Criminal Act, which stipulates punishment for anyone who insults or defames a foreign envoy in South Korea. Such action is punishable by up to three years in prison, and the same law states that physical violence or intimidation against a foreign envoy shall be punished by up to five years in prison.

Article 107 of the same act bans violence, intimidation, insult and defamation against the sovereign of a foreign country, but this applies when the foreign leader is sojourning in the country. As Xi was not physically present in South Korea at the time, this particular clause is not considered applicable.

South Korea has seen a wave of anti-Chinese protests led by supporters of disgraced former President Yoon and conservative groups, driven by the debunked claim that Chinese spies helped rig an election in favor of the liberal bloc. These protests have been concentrated in Myeong-dong, a major destination in Seoul for tourists, and have recently spread to Daerim-dong in southwestern Seoul, an area with a high concentration of Chinese residents.