Following the recent fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea has now sought to ramp up the security detail for high-profile individuals. The increase in security detail also included the US ambassador to South Korea’s attendance at an LGBTQ pride parade in the country.
Reuters reports that South Korea is ramping up its security for high-profile officials in light of Abe’s assassination. The country’s Presidential Security Service said it would strengthen security measures for President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the National Police Agency has ordered its regional branches to increase monitoring to guard key individuals.
“We are reviewing our security system for the president following the Abe shooting and will take necessary measures to strengthen our security posture,” a presidential security service official told Reuters.
South Korean police are also preparing for the Seoul Queer Culture Festival that will be taking place on Saturday. US ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and other envoys are expected to attend. Small protests took place at the US embassy in South Korea the previous weekend, with demonstrators accusing Washington of “homosexual cultural imperialism.”
“We are planning to tighten security as there are a number of risk factors with opposition groups also set to hold a rally at the same time,” said a police officer.
Security details for US ambassadors to South Korea have been controversial over the years. Back in 2015, a South Korean man slashed the face of then-ambassador Mark Lippert at a forum with a fruit knife.
In 2019, up to 20 protesters climbed the wall into the US ambassador’s residential compound in another illegal entry. Law enforcement boosted security in the area following a complaint by the US State Department.
South Korea is also tackling the tensions in the region following numerous weapons tests by North Korea. The South Korean military said Sunday that it has detected shots coming from Pyongyang, which might have come from rocket launchers.
The country’s Joint Chief of Staff said the shots were detected after 6:00 p.m. KST and that the military has increased surveillance and alert levels without disclosing any further details.