President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

The Cheonan Seobook Police Station in South Chungcheong Province said Thursday it had referred a man in his 30s to prosecutors without detention on charges of threatening to kill the president in a social media post.

The suspect, identified only as A, is a company employee accused of posting a threat on his personal social media account in June, writing that he would kill the president.

Police tracked down the author after receiving a report and identified A, who later confessed during a police investigation.

A told police he was angry because President Lee Jae Myung appeared to be evading responsibility for various problems that arose during the June 3 local elections, including a shortage of ballots, according to police.

"Even without any actual intent to carry out the act, posting content that threatens or endangers someone is a clear criminal offense," a police official said. "We will continue to strictly investigate anyone who posts such threatening content."


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