An email threatening to detonate an explosive in downtown Seoul if South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is not killed has led police to search the National Assembly, officials said Tuesday.
According to the police and the secretariat of the National Assembly, the email threatened to bomb a library in the capital if Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) is not killed by 3:34 p.m. Wednesday.
The author wrote "the range of the bomb was 334 meters from" the library in downtown Seoul but did not specify the library.
They said the email was sent to a number of people, including officials in the Seoul metropolitan government, the previous day. Sent from a Japanese account, the email contained phone and fax numbers of a Japanese law firm, as well as some unclear English-written messages.
Police received the report around 4:45 p.m. and dispatched a bomb disposal team to conduct a search of the parliament for an explosive.
Investigators are also tracking the email's internet protocol address, while the National Assembly secretariat has provided security protection to Lee and strengthened patrols around the parliamentary building.
The DP confirmed it has received a Japanese terror threat against its leader but said he will go ahead with his schedule the next day.
Source: Yonhap News Agency