hankyoreh

Day in and day out, thousands of leaflets bashing President Park Geun-hye are being scattered across downtown Seoul. Over the four days from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28, the leaflets were strewn across the streets around the Blue House, as well as high-traffic areas of Seoul including Gangnam, Myeongdong, and Sinchon.

Risking criticism for paying excessive concern to the president’s feelings, the police are investigating the case as unauthorized entry into buildings and littering, a misdemeanor. So far, though, the police have failed to even determine who is creating and scattering the leaflets.

The only information about the identity of the makers is a phrase that appears on the leaflets: “Citizens Concerned about Democracy.” Organizations who have distributed similar leaflets in the past denied their involvement, explaining that they do not distribute leaflets anonymously.

The name “Citizens Concerned about Democracy” made its first appearance on leaflets that were scattered around the Hongdae area of Seoul on Dec. 26, 2014, just after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) must be disbanded.

The leaflets accused Park Geun-hye of hypocrisy when she denounces so-called “pro-North Koreans”. “Who is really pro-North Korea?” the leaflets ask.

Wearing thick clothing and masks to conceal their identity, members of the group use guerilla tactics, entering skyscrapers that leave their doors unlocked and scattering leaflets from the roof.

The police investigation is at a standstill. The only evidence that they have, recordings from security cameras, is not providing any help.

“We have examined all of the footage from security cameras in the buildings the leaflets were scattered from and means of access including the subway and bus, but we have failed to identify the culprits,” said Lim Hwi-seong, head of the intelligence investigation department at Seoul’s Seocho Police Department on Mar. 2.

“We have yet to turn up any suspects from the incident at the end of last year,” admitted Seo Hyeon-su, chief of investigation at the Mapo Police Department.

“With an increasing number of people who criticize the government online being prosecuted for defamation or slander, there appears to be a rise in the distribution of leaflets, which on a visual level clearly signify resistance,” said Park Ju-min, lawyer with MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society.

By Park Ki-yong, staff reporter

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