An environmental activist who was fined for spray-painting “climate crisis” on tunnels chose to serve a brief jail sentence instead of paying the penalty. (Image courtesy of the Gyeongnam Climate Crisis Emergency Action)
CHANGWON, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) – An environmental activist who was fined for spray-painting “climate crisis” on tunnels chose to serve a brief jail sentence instead of paying the penalty, in a protest intended to raise awareness about global warming.
Park Jong-kwon, a co-leader of the Gyeongnam Climate Crisis Emergency Action group, defaced tunnel entrances in late 2021 in the district of Masanhappo in Changwon to highlight the gravity of climate change, he said.
Park, 29, was fined about 100,000 won for the graffiti by a district court, which ruled that while his goal was legitimate, there were other ways to voice concerns over climate change besides vandalism.
After losing appeals, Park reported to Changwon Prison on May 28 to serve a two-day jail term, calculated at a rate of 50,000 per day, instead of paying the court-imposed fine. He was released on May 29.
“I refused to pay the fine and chose jail as a form of protest because the reality that people think of the climate crisis as someone else’s problem is so regrettable,” Park said after his release. “At a time when the climate crisis is severe, if it doesn’t cost money, activists should use any means to make citizens aware of its gravity.”
In December 2021, Park spray-painted the words “climate crisis” at four tunnel entrances in the Jindong and Jinjeon areas of Masanhappo District to raise public awareness, he explained.
In December 2021, Park Jong-kwon, co-leader of the Gyeongnam Climate Crisis Emergency Action group, spray-painted the word “climate crisis” on the entrance to a tunnel in Changwon to draw attention to the seriousness of the climate crisis. (Image courtesy of the Gyeongnam Climate Crisis Emergency Action)
However, the national agency overseeing the tunnels prosecuted Park. A district court initially imposed the 100,000 won fine, judging that “while the purpose may be considered legitimate, it is difficult to say there was no other way to convey the severity of the climate crisis besides this act.”
Park appealed the ruling but lost. After the Supreme Court also rejected his final appeal in March, the original sentence was upheld.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
