Woman who spat at officer during Jamsil vote-count protest attends detention hearing, shouts 'rigged election'

A woman in her 40s who spat at a police officer and hurled insults at him during a protest at a vote-counting center in Jamsil faces possible detention.

Seoul Eastern District Court Judge Seo Beom-jun, who handles warrant reviews, conducted a pretrial detention hearing Thursday for the woman, identified only by her surname Kim, on charges of obstructing a public official in the performance of duties.

Kim arrived at court at 2:12 p.m. and ignored reporters' questions about whether she admitted to spitting at the officer and whether she acknowledged the obstruction charges. She shouted: "Rigged election — hold a new vote, hand-count ballots on election day." The slogan is regularly chanted by participants in the protest to blockade the Jamsil vote-counting center.

Kim was arrested at the scene Monday at around 10:20 a.m. after allegedly asking a police officer for his name, then spitting on him and swearing at him in front of Gates 1 through 3 of the handball gymnasium at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where officers were managing the protest.

She also filmed officers on her mobile phone, saying she wanted to "confirm they were Korean police," and directed abusive language at their families.

A video that subsequently spread on social media showed a police officer slapping Kim in the face immediately after she spat at him, sparking controversy.