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A 27-year-old American faces three years in a South Korean jail after being extradited to the country on charges of spraying graffiti on subway trains.
- An American graffiti artist was extradited to South Korea on Wednesday
- The 27-year-old is suspected of painting trains and faces three years in prison
- His 28-year-old Italian accomplice has yet to be found by the Korean authorities.
An American graffiti artist has been extradited to South Korea for questioning about spray painting subway trains.
The 27-year-old, who has not been identified by South Korean police, allegedly broke into nine train garages in September with an Italian accomplice.
The man was identified using CCTV footage and now faces up to three years in a South Korean prison.
Romanian police detained the man in November and he was extradited to South Korea on Wednesday to appear before the Incheon District Court.
The 27-year-old American, who has not been identified by police, faces up to three years in prison for spray-painting subway trains.
Spray painting public facilities is punishable by three years in prison in South Korea. South Korean police released photos of the wrecked trains
Police began investigating after a metro service operator filed a complaint about the vandalism.
The couple painted the exterior of the trains with words such as ‘word’, ‘ride’ and ‘deny’ on eight carriages in six regions of South Korea.
An Interpol Red Notice was issued to arrest the American after it was discovered that he had left South Korea for Vietnam.
He was detained by Romanian police in November and returned to South Korea on Wednesday. The man attended a district court hearing on Friday.
Police are still searching for his 28-year-old Italian accomplice.
The graffiti artist faces up to three years in prison under South Korean law and a fine of seven million yen ($5,674).
It is unclear if the case will go to trial, but South Korea has previously convicted foreign nationals for spray-painting public facilities.
The artist was detained in Romania in November following an Interpol red notice for his arrest.
The pair broke into subway train garages and painted the exterior of the trains with the words “word” and “deny.”
South Korean authorities first became aware of the graffiti after a university professor, Park Jung-soo, spray-painted a rat on a G20 poster in 2011.
This was deemed to be an insulting description of then-President Lee Myung-bak, and Park was fined two million won ($1,620).
In 2015, South Korean police found four Australian men spray painting on the Seoul subway and said the people could be criminally charged with property damage and trespassing.
Two British men from the Manchester graffiti gang SMT were sentenced to four months in a South Korean prison in 2017 for painting Seoul’s subway trains.
A couple sparked a major debate after accidentally vandalizing a finished piece by artist JonOne in 2021.
The $400,000 ‘Untitled’ piece, which included brushes and paints, was on display at a shopping mall where the Korean couple believed it was a participatory painting.
They were arrested but later released by the South Korean police after it was determined that they did not intend to damage the artwork.