Home > National > Social Affairs

Police arrest man for damaging roof tiles at Jongmyo Shrine

Published: 17 Sep. 2025, 21:20

Roof tiles on the outer wall near the main gate of Jongmyo Shrine were found damaged or dislodged on Sept. 15, according to the Korea Heritage Service and Hyehwa Police Precinct. The photo shows the damage. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Police arrested a man in his 50s for damaging part of the outer wall at Jongmyo Shrine, a Unesco World Heritage site, authorities said Wednesday.

The Hyehwa Police Precinct in Seoul said it detained the man on suspicion of violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act.

The man allegedly broke 10 roof tiles on the outer wall of Jongmyo around 12:50 a.m. on Monday, according to police.

The damage included five concave tiles and five convex tiles. The broken tiles have been repaired.

Staff at the Jongmyo management office discovered the damage during a routine early-morning patrol and reported it to police. Officers tracked the suspect down after identifying his appearance and tracing his movements.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday at the Seoul Northern District Court.

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 HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]