Long hair, mismatched name tags, Chinese police? Korean National Police Agency says claims are false, demands end to defamation

The Korean National Police Agency has denied claims that officers deployed to protests over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections were impostors or foreign police.

Online communities, YouTube channels and social media platforms were flooded Tuesday with allegations that police seen at the Songpa-gu ballot-counting station blockade protest in Seoul were Chinese public security officers or fake police.

Some videos drew attention to an officer with dyed, long hair, with commenters questioning whether such an appearance was permitted. In another case, an officer wore a police vest bearing a name tag that matched a colleague's, while the name tag on the shirt underneath was different.

One officer surrounded by protesters identified himself, giving his unit and name, but was still mocked as a "Temu cop" and a "loner cop" and accused of being a Chinese public security officer. He was also grabbed by the neck by members of the crowd.

Another officer silently endured taunts such as, "Why do you talk like that? Are you really Korean? Are you Chinese?"

Families of the officers are preparing legal action over what they describe as conduct that crossed the line.

The Korean National Police Agency pushed back against the "fake police" claims and urged the public to stop spreading unverified information.

In a statement Sunday, the agency said posts were spreading across online communities and social media that made unverified claims — including that officers on duty at protest sites were "foreign police" or "fake police" — and that damaged the reputations of individual officers.

"After promptly reviewing all cases in which suspicions were raised, we confirmed that the individuals in question are South Korean police officers performing their duties at the scene," the agency said, adding that the allegations were false.

The agency also called on the public to stop spreading baseless falsehoods that "undermine the morale of 140,000 police officers across the country who are quietly doing their best to protect public safety, and make it harder to carry out lawful enforcement."

On criticism that some officers' conduct or appearance during enforcement was inappropriate, the agency said it would "thoroughly review the situation and do its utmost, through sufficient education and other measures, to ensure police activities meet the public's expectations."

‘음모론 금지’ 나흘째 올림픽공원 지키는 2030들 “못 믿을 선거 또 없어야” [세상&]

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