3 Men Allegedly Assault Falun Gong Practitioners Outside Duty-Free Shop in South Korea

Three Mandarin-speaking Chinese men allegedly attacked several Falun Gong practitioners at an information booth exposing the persecution of their practice by the Chinese regime, outside the Shilla Duty Free store in South Korea’s Jeju Island on June 2.In a video that went viral on X and had more than 350,000 views as of June 8, one assailant wearing glasses shouts at the Falun Gong practitioners: “How dare you oppose the [Chinese] Communist Party! Get out of here immediately!” He told another man who accompanied him to “call the [Chinese] Embassy,” and pointed at the practitioners and said, “Pack your things and leave!”A man in a black shirt, who appears to be following the orders of the man with glasses, pulls down display boards, tears them apart, and knocks an elderly woman to the ground when she tries to protect a banner. The attackers then stomp on the boards.The assault occurred as Falun Gong practitioners held a rally near the popular tourist spot, exposing the Chinese regime’s human rights abuses ahead of the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.Jeju Island, widely known as “the Hawaii of Korea” for its beaches and volcanic landscapes, attracts many Chinese tourists. Falun Gong practitioners regularly set up information booths there to raise awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing persecution of the spiritual practice.Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, centers on the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance. Introduced to the public in China in the early 1990s, it gained widespread popularity, reaching at least 70 million people by the end of the decade, according to official estimates at the time.In July 1999, the CCP, fearing that Falun Gong’s popularity threatened the regime’s power, launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice. Since then, many have suffered arbitrary detention, forced labor, torture, and even death from forced organ harvesting.Falun Gong practitioners in China and worldwide volunteer to raise public awareness of the CCP’s persecution and advise Chinese people to cut ties with the CCP and its affiliated organizations.Victims Describe Coordinated, Trained AttacksOne witness and the victims who spoke to The Epoch Times provided only their surnames due to fear of reprisal.Wang, a witness, said that the man wearing glasses provoked the confrontation. She said she heard him saying, “If you were in China, I would kill you,” and warning that he would return the next day to destroy the information boards.At least three Falun Gong practitioners were injured in the incident, including the elderly female practitioner who was seen on video falling to the ground while holding a banner.Wu, who tried to shield the poster displays, was allegedly attacked from behind by two men who twisted his left wrist, fingers, ankle, and leg.“Their movements were very professional—it felt like they had received specialized training,” Wu told The Epoch Times.Wu said the doctors diagnosed him with a tendon injury and multiple sprains; his left hand was immobilized.Two Chinese men allegedly attacked Wu, a Falun Gong practitioner, in Jeju Island, South Korea, on June 2, 2026. Doctors diagnosed him with a tendon injury and multiple sprains; his left hand was immobilized. Courtesy of Falun Gong practitioners in South KoreaJiang stepped in to help Wu and was grabbed from behind by the man with glasses.“He wrapped his arms around me and slammed me onto a nearby stone bench,” Jiang told the publication. “I hit my head hard, was punched on the right side of my face, and bruised my right knee.”Ko, a South Korean Falun Gong practitioner, noted after reviewing the videos that the assailants used techniques resembling professional restraint methods.“The way they attacked looked professionally trained,” she told The Epoch Times after the incident.Police Shift From ‘Mutual Conflict’ to One-Sided AssaultOne of the Falun Gong practitioners called the police, who arrived after more than 10 minutes and took the three men into custody.Park Dong-seok, a Falun Gong practitioner residing in Jeju Island, accompanied two injured practitioners to the police station on June 3 to provide statements. He said officers initially treated the case as a mutual fight between two Chinese men. After reviewing video evidence and witness accounts, he said police corrected the record to include all three assailants and reclassified it as a one-sided attack. The suspects are under investigation for disrupting a public gathering, assault, and vandalism.“The police contacted me on June 4 with new findings and confirmed the assailants had lied,” Wu told The Epoch Times. Park said that although similar harassment had occurred before, “this level of violence is unprecedented.” He warned that a lenient response would signal that Korean authorities tolerate such behavior. The practitioners intend to seek full legal accountability.Police have requested medical certificates and videos and plan to forward the case to prosecutors, according to Park.Jeju West Police Station is leading the investigation. An officer with the Criminal Investigation Division told The Epoch Times that the suspects’ identities cannot be disclosed under South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act. He confirmed that the three Chinese men involved in the June 2 assault are not residents of Jeju. “They are from outside the island and can be regarded as tourists,” he said. According to the officer, once the investigation is complete, the case file and evidence will be transferred to the prosecution. Prosecutors will then review the materials and decide whether to file formal charges against the suspects.‘Thorough Investigation’ Needed: Global Tuidang CenterIn a June 7 statement, the Global Tuidang Center strongly condemned the violent attack in Jeju and urged Korean authorities to conduct a “thorough investigation” to determine whether the attack was directed by the CCP from overseas, rather than treating it as a routine criminal case.Tuidang, meaning withdrawal from the CCP, is a grassroots movement sparked by the editorial series “Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party,” first published in the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times in 2004. Falun Gong practitioners have volunteered to hand out pamphlets and talk to Chinese people from mainland China about the CCP’s brutal killing history, and to advise them to quit the CCP or its affiliated organizations. As of June 8, more than 462 million Chinese people have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.Falun Gong practitioners who raise awareness of the persecution and advise Chinese people to withdraw from the Party are potentially targeted by the CCP and its agents. In China, they face severe punishment, including arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and torture. Outside China, they are assaulted by Chinese agents or individuals with ties to the regime.“This was not a random street clash, but a premeditated and organized hate crime,” the Tuidang statement said.The organization noted that this incident is part of a disturbing pattern. In recent months, violent attacks targeting its volunteers have occurred in the United States and the UK.Zhang Chunping (R) speaks to a bus driver who allegedly assaulted her outside the British Museum in London, on Feb. 23, 2026. Courtesy of Austin TangThese include an assault on volunteer Zhang Chunping outside the British Museum in London; an attack on Lydia Dong at a Tuidang center in Flushing, New York; and the assault of 70-year-old May Zhang with iron rods, stones, and a tree branch in Industry City, Los Angeles.Former Official and Professor Call for Upholding SovereigntyHan Min-ho, a former official of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and president of Citizens for Unveiling Confucius Institutes, urged authorities to treat the incident seriously on sovereignty grounds.“Collective violence by foreigners on Korean soil constitutes an infringement on the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea,” Han said in a recent interview with The Epoch Times. “It is also a concrete manifestation of the CCP’s human rights abuses and its inherent violent nature.” He warned, “If the South Korean government fails to handle this incident seriously, similar cases may occur frequently in the future.”Han also highlighted the issue of thousands of Chinese nationals overstaying in Jeju under the visa-free policy. He criticized the South Korean government for appearing to defer to Beijing, which he said has emboldened such overstays. He said he received repeated threats while holding weekly press conferences criticizing the CCP.Professor Lee Ji-Yong of Keimyung University said in an interview with The Epoch Times that the recent assault fits a global pattern and that similar organized violence against anti-CCP activities has occurred in the United States, Australia, and South Korea.While direct orders from the Chinese Consulate in Jeju remain unproven, Lee said that global precedents do not rule out organized involvement. He urged the Korean government to act decisively to protect national sovereignty and the rule of law.Other Incidents in JejuSimilar assaults have occurred before. In April 2024, Chinese tourists near the Shilla Duty Free store overturned Falun Gong-related display boards and were arrested. Months earlier, in December 2023, two incidents of assault targeting Falun Gong practitioners occurred at Sunrise Peak, a famous scenic spot on Jeju Island.Wu, who was recently attacked by Chinese nationals at a protest site, noted that harassment by Chinese tourists has become more frequent in recent years. He believes the latest incident warrants an investigation into possible transnational repression by the CCP.In the United States, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report on June 4 highlighting Beijing’s growing use of fear, censorship, and coercion overseas. It describes the Chinese regime’s transnational repression as a mounting global challenge to human rights and democratic freedoms.Under South Korean law, assault is a serious offense. Penalties for simple assault range from fines to several months in prison, while more severe cases can result in imprisonment for several years to more than a decade.The Epoch Times reached out to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.Li Runjing, Hong Ki-hoon, Hyangmae Jung, James Nam, Fang Xiao, and Yi Ru contributed to this report.