S. Korean ultranationalists attack Ruptly’s producer in Seoul
An RT Ruptly video agency producer suffered minor injuries and had his equipment damaged after he was attacked by a group of South Korean ultranationalists at a protest camp in Seoul.
The incident happened in front of City Hall where the producer and his translator were filming at a camp of supporters of impeached president Park Geun-hye, many of whom are known to be ultranationalists, Ruptly’s producer said.
“It might have been not even five minutes inside the camp” when the crew was approached by three men, two of whom were wearing military gear, he said.
They began asking questions about the reasons for filming and then demanded that the Ruptly crew delete their footage.
“Following my denial to their request… we didn’t even have time to make sense of the situation because in a matter of seconds about two dozen of other protesters mobbed us,” the producer recalled.
Many of Park’s supporters, who participated in the attack, were armed and had “batons” in their hands, he said.
“They were shouting profanities and started trying to hit my camera. As I was trying to break out… they partially managed to damage the equipment as well as leave bruises on my arms,” the producer said.
He also pointed out that there were no police present at the scene, and was only rescued from the mob by “other citizens not affiliated with the camp.”
The Ruptly producer was left with bruises and had a microphone damaged as a result of the attack.
Before arriving at the ultranationalist camp, the Ruptly crew filmed the final campaign rallies of Moon Jae-in and Hong Jun-pyo – two of the frontrunners in the Korean Presidential election scheduled for Tuesday.
The vote was called after the previous head of state, Park Geun-hye, was forced to resign in March because of her involvement in a corruption scandal which triggered a wave of mass protests and a parliamentary impeachment.
