Protesters chant slogans at the handball gymnasium in Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday, as demonstrations blocking the Jamsil vote-counting center continue. The protesters are demanding a re-election over a ballot shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections. (Lee Sang-sub / The Korea Herald)
Protesters chant slogans at the handball gymnasium in Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday, as demonstrations blocking the Jamsil vote-counting center continue. The protesters are demanding a re-election over a ballot shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections. (Lee Sang-sub / The Korea Herald)

By Park Hye-won, The Herald Business

President Lee Jae Myung, visiting Belgium, said Wednesday local time that some protesters at the Jamsil demonstration — where a ballot shortage during the local elections has sparked unrest — had gone too far in their treatment of police officers deployed to the scene.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Lee said officers had been called "fake police," subjected to verbal abuse and, in some cases, confined and assaulted. "These are utterly incomprehensible and unacceptable things happening openly in broad daylight," he said.

He stressed that police officers are "someone's precious family members" and "citizens in uniform." "Violence against police who are protecting the safety and rights of citizens will only endanger the public and damage the democratic space for public discourse," he said.

Lee said free expression and debate must be guaranteed, but that conduct crossing the line could not be tolerated. He urged that "senseless acts of violence against officers on the ground and citizens nearby" stop immediately.

The president also expressed deep gratitude to officers for their dedication to maintaining public order amid difficult circumstances, and added that the government was closely monitoring the situation at the Jamsil protest site.


klee@heraldcorp.com