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Intoxicated man damages roof tiles at Jongmyo Shrine

Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 14:44 Updated: 16 Sep. 2025, 17:51

Roof tiles on the wall of Jongmyo Shrine lie damaged on Sept. 15 [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

A man believed to be intoxicated damaged roof tiles on the outer wall of Jongmyo Shrine in central Seoul early Monday before fleeing the scene, authorities said.

Surveillance footage from the Korea Heritage Service showed the suspect shaking and pulling tiles with his hands while moving along three sections of the wall near a CU convenience store west of the shrine’s outer gate at about 12:54 a.m.

A night-shift worker discovered the damage during a patrol at approximately 5:30 a.m. The destruction included five convex tiles and five concave tiles.

The Korea Heritage Service reported the incident to the police by calling 112 and dispatched an in-house repair team, which completed the restoration at around 3:15 p.m.

Police are tracking the suspect's movements based on his physical description.

Jongmyo Shrine is a national shrine that houses the spirit tablets of the kings, queens, emperors and empresses of the Joseon and Korean Empire dynasties (1391-1910). It was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1995 after a review by the World Heritage Committee.

The Jongmyo Jerye, a royal ancestral ritual and its accompanying music, Jongmyo Jeryeak, were added to Unesco's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2001.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]