Mirrors glass plates Fans of S Korean presidential candidate Lee react to shooter attack alert

SEOUL - At a campaign rally held by Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 14, some supporters in the crowd were seen holding up hand mirrors and glass plates as he gave a speech.

These items are meant to distract potential shooters in the vicinity from aiming by reflecting light off the surface of the glass and blocking their view, his supporters have said.

Supporters taking “anti-shooter” measures to protect Mr Lee have become a common sight at his rallies following the Democratic Party’s claims of tips from sources that retired military agents had smuggled Russian guns into the country to plot an attack against him.

Mr Lee, who survived an assassination attempt by a man posing as his supporter in Busan on Jan 2, 2024, has been spotted donning bulletproof body gear in public.

So far, at his campaign events, he has minimised face-to-face contact and kept his distance from the crowd where possible.

Some Democratic Party lawmakers have suggested going further by installing transparent bulletproof walls around him at rallies and other mass events, which are vulnerable to politically inspired attacks.

An anonymous Democratic Party lawmaker, who is deeply involved in Mr Lee’s campaign, said, however, that putting shields around the presidential candidate could risk portraying South Korea in a negative light.

“Think about the message that image is going to send the world about South Korea’s safety,” he told The Korea Herald.

The Democratic Party has been escalating claims that Mr Lee is being targeted in threats of violence, even accusing the country’s intelligence agency of being involved in the supposed plotting of an attack against the candidate.

Representative Jeon Hyun-heui, a Democratic Party supreme council member, claimed in a radio interview on May 14 that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) might have