Progressive party member carried out of commencement ceremony after shouting at Yoon

Presidential security agents carried a member of a minor progressive party out of his own commencement ceremony Friday after he created a scene by shouting at President Yoon Suk Yeol during his congratulatory speech, the second time such a commotion has happened in a month.

Shin Min-ki, spokesperson for the Daejeon wing of the Justice Party, was dressed in a graduation robe at the commencement ceremony of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul, and shouted words to the effect of demanding an increase in the government’s research and development (R&D) budget, according to eyewitnesses. The government has slashed the R&D budget with the aim of reallocating it to areas where it is needed most.

Video circulating online showed members of the Presidential Security Service covering Shin’s mouth and carrying him out of the venue by his limbs.

“The Presidential Security Service separated the person causing the disturbance in order to secure safety within the security zone and establish order at the event,” the presidential office said in a notice to the press. “This was an inevitable measure taken in accordance with the law, regulations and security principles.”

The security detail later handed Shin over to local police.

An official at the presidential office said Shin had snuck in a banner with a politically charged message and had ignored verbal warnings from security officers on the scene.

Kim Jun-woo, head of the Justice Party, accused the presidential security guards of abusing their power and locking Shin inside a basement, even though Shin had not taken any physical action.

In a Facebook posting, Kim demanded the immediate release of Shin and an apology from the Presidential Security Service.

A similar incident occurred on Jan. 18, when presidential security agents carried Rep. Kang Sung-hee of the minor progressive Jinbo Party out of an official ceremony in Jeonju, 192 km south of Seoul.

Kang said he simply asked Yoon during the ceremony to change the way the country was run, but the presidential office offered a different account, saying the lawmaker shouted and would not let go of Yoon’s hand.