Mirrors, glass plates: Fans of S. Korean presidential candidate Lee react to ‘shooter attack’ alert
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Supporters taking “anti-shooter” measures to protect South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung have become a common sight at his rallies.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL - At a campaign rally held by Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 14, some supporters in the crowd were seen holding up hand mirrors and glass plates as he gave a speech.
These items are meant to distract potential shooters in the vicinity from aiming by reflecting light off the surface of the glass and blocking their view, his supporters have said.
Supporters taking “anti-shooter” measures to protect Mr Lee have become a common sight at his rallies following the Democratic Party’s claims of tips from sources that retired military agents had smuggled Russian guns into the country to plot an attack against him.
Mr Lee, who survived an assassination attempt by a man
So far, at his campaign events, he has minimised face-to-face contact and kept his distance from the crowd where possible.
Some Democratic Party lawmakers have suggested going further by installing transparent bulletproof walls around him at rallies and other mass events, which are vulnerable to politically inspired attacks.
An anonymous Democratic Party lawmaker, who is deeply involved in Mr Lee’s campaign, said, however, that putting shields around the presidential candidate could risk portraying South Korea in a negative light.
“Think about the message that image is going to send the world about South Korea’s safety,” he told The Korea Herald.
The Democratic Party has been escalating claims that Mr Lee is being targeted in threats of violence, even accusing the country’s intelligence agency of being involved in the supposed plotting of an attack against the candidate.
Representative Jeon Hyun-heui, a Democratic Party supreme council member, claimed in a radio interview on May 14 that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) might have been behind the stabbing attack on Mr Lee in Busan in 2024.
Ms Jeon said the NIS had not thoroughly investigated the attack then, and does not seem to be taking the threats against him seriously now.
“This is why suspicions persist that the NIS may have been behind the attack on Lee,” she argued.
Some false alarms had sent the Democratic Party scurrying in panic.
One time at Mr Lee’s rally in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, a man was seen carrying what looked like a machine gun, which turned out to be a toy, according to Democratic Party Representative Boo Seung-chan.
These perceived threats are hard to verify, Mr Boo said.
“We can’t fact-check every single report about suspicious circumstances or behaviours, but we are preparing for the worst,” the lawmaker said in a radio interview on May 15.
But police said they have not received any complaints concerning attack attempts against Mr Lee, or a plan for one, as at May 14, disputing the Democratic Party’s earlier claim that at least seven police complaints had been filed.
On the Democratic Party’s claims of plots and attacks targeting Mr Lee, Representative Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party said the rival party “should refrain from politics of scaremongering”.
THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
