Prosecutors seek jail time for college student who soliticited attack on Lee Jae Myung

Prosecutors have sought a four-year prison sentence for a college student who posted a message on a university online bulletin board soliciting a knife attack against President Lee Jae Myung when he was the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

The Suwon District Court in Suwon, Gyeonggi [YONHAP]

Prosecutors have sought a four-year prison sentence for a college student who posted a message on a university online bulletin board soliciting a knife attack against President Lee Jae Myung when he was the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate ahead of the election last year.

At a hearing held Tuesday at the Suwon District Court, prosecutors requested that the court impose a prison sentence on the defendant for charges including violations of the Public Official Election Act.

The defendant is accused of posting the message on May 26 last year after learning that then-candidate Lee was scheduled to visit Ajou University in Suwon, Gyeonggi, as part of his campaign activities. Using their mobile phone, the defendant allegedly wrote, “Will pay money if you stab Lee Jae Myung today. Contact me.”

Lee was scheduled to visit the university the same day to meet with students and discuss youth-related policies.

The event concluded at around 12:15 p.m., roughly an hour and 10 minutes after it began, and no incidents occurred before Lee left the campus.

In the closing argument, the defendant’s attorney said the defendant was “deeply remorseful and has come to fully realize the serious social repercussions of their actions.” The lawyer added that the defendant turned themselves in shortly after committing the offense, expressed remorse, apologized to the victim and asked the court for leniency so they could “return as a responsible member of society.”

“I sincerely reflect on my actions,” the defendant said in a final statement. “At the time, I did not realize how seriously my words would be taken by the candidate. I will never do such a thing again.”

The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict at 2 p.m. on Jan. 29.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY HYEON YE-SEUL [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]