Gyeongbok Palace graffiti suspect escapes custody, found 2 hours later

A suspect in the Gyeongbok Palace graffiti incident escaped custody during police investigation but was caught two hours later, reports said Tuesday.

A man known as Lee, who has been accused of offering to pay two teenagers to vandalize the Gyeongbok Palace walls, at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on May 25 [YONHAP]

A suspect in the Gyeongbok Palace graffiti incident escaped custody during police investigation but was caught two hours later, reports said Tuesday.

According to media reports, the man, referred to as Lee, ran away from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency at around 1:50 p.m. during questioning. He was caught two hours later.

Lee was in police custody for offering two teenagers 3 million won ($2,200) in total to vandalize the Gyeongbok Palace walls last year.

When the two vandals — a 17-year-old boy and his 16-year-old girlfriend — were caught in December for spray-painting the palace walls on Dec. 16, they said they were offered money to paint the addresses of illegal streaming websites from a person using the ID “Team leader Lee” online. Lee is known to be in his 30s.

Lee was arrested on May 22, five months after the graffiti was first found on the walls of the palace in December.

In December, several parts of Gyeongbok Palace's walls were vandalized on two separate occasions. The 17-year-old boy admitted to the first incident, which took place on Dec. 16, while a man in his 20s admitted to the incident that took place the following day.

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) said Thursday the damage from the two incidents totaled 150 million won, after receiving a total sum from an appraisal agency. It will charge the amount to the two vandals.

According to the KHS, the restoration work for the first incident will cost around 121 million won, while the damage from the second incident will cost around 19 million won.

The KHS said it will file civil suits against the two in June to demand compensation. Preservation work has been undertaken to restore the walls, with the latest being performed last month from April 18 to 24.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]