Palace vandals were also told to spray paint King Sejong statue, police find

The walls of Yeongchumun Gate, the west entrance of Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, is vandalized with spray paint on Saturday. Two teen suspects were caught on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

An unidentified person who ordered two teens to vandalize Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul also told them to spray paint the adjacent Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun, according to police investigations.

On Tuesday, police apprehended two teenagers, a 17-year-old man surnamed Im and a 16-year-old woman, an accomplice surnamed Kim, for vandalizing the walls of Gyeongbok Palace on Saturday with a 44-meter-long graffiti promoting a free movie website.

Im and Kim, accused of violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, were grilled by the Seoul Jongno Police Precinct for around six hours Thursday.

Police said the pair confessed during the investigation they vandalized the walls after receiving a request from a stranger on social media, who promised to pay them hundreds of won in return.

The teens reportedly received a total of 100,000 won ($ 76.66) on two occasions from this person, who asked to be called "Team Leader Lee," and purchased the spray paint used in the crime.

Media reports Thursday revealed that this mysterious client contacted Im in real time through the crime process and gave specific instructions on where to spray paint, time and their route.

Im told police this client had posted a message on a Telegram group chatroom on Dec. 11 recruiting someone to work for him in exchange for 3 million won.

This recruiter later introduced himself as running an illegal streaming site and asked to be called "Team Leader Lee."

This person instructed Im on the location and method of committing the vandalism, sent 100,000 won to his account and promised to "hide 5.5 million won somewhere in Suwon." However, he cut off all contact.

Im said he and his accomplice had also been instructed to spray paint the King Sejong statue but backed out at the last minute because they were scared of tight security since police were around when they approached the statue.

Police said Thursday they are seeking an arrest warrant for Im on charges of violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act. His accomplice, however, was found not to have directly engaged in the vandalism and was released.

Police are also tracking down "Team Leader Lee" through the account from which the deposit to Im was made and his Telegram account.

Another suspect in his 20s, who is accused of vandalizing the western gate to the palace Sunday in an alleged copycat crime, turned himself in on Monday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]