Man who posted threats to kill President Lee Jae-myung five times referred to prosecutors

A man in his 20s who repeatedly posted threats on social media to kill President Lee Jae-myung has been referred to prosecutors.

Hyehwa Police Station in Seoul said Wednesday it referred the man, identified only by the initial A, to prosecutors without detention on charges of attempted intimidation.

A is accused of posting messages on his social media account on multiple occasions on July 6 expressing his intent to kill the president.

Police said A made a total of five threatening posts. Officers traced the posts back to A and arrested him on July 8.

A admitted to all the charges during police questioning but told investigators he had no actual intention of carrying out the threats.

A Hyehwa Police Station official said posting threatening content online constitutes a clear criminal act regardless of whether the poster intends to follow through. "We will pursue similar crimes to the end and investigate them strictly," the official said.