SEOUL: Bomb threats were emailed to 80 courts across South Korea on Wednesday (Aug 26), prompting police searches, tightened security and temporary disruptions to some court proceedings.
Police said they first received a report from the Incheon District Court at around 9.17am after the court received an email threatening an explosion.
Authorities deployed 37 officers, 11 members of a police special operations unit and three detection dogs to search the courthouse and surrounding area for approximately three hours.
Similar threats were sent to courts nationwide, including in Busan; Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province; Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; Daejeon; Incheon; Jeonju, North Jeolla Province; Gwangju; Seoul; and Ulsan.
The emails were largely similar in content, claiming that homemade explosives had been planted inside and around court buildings and threatening detonations later Wednesday.
The sender also claimed to be a member of a Japanese idol group. The emails reportedly said the sender had suffered malicious comments and criticism after being subject to a contract termination decision and had hired a lawyer, but became distraught after nothing changed.
The Jeonju District Court restricted public access to the courthouse as a precaution. Court proceedings scheduled from 2pm were temporarily suspended until security restrictions imposed during the bomb search were lifted.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's task force dedicated to public threat cases has begun tracing the sender, while regional police agencies are coordinating with courts to strengthen security.
"We will conduct thorough searches even though the likelihood of an actual attack appears to be low," a police official said. - The Korea Herald/ANN
