South Korean man arrested over alleged Daesh terror plot

A South Korean man with alleged links to Daesh militants was on Thursday arrested on suspicion of plotting acts of terrorism.

The 23-year-old soldier, identified only by his surname Park, had been discharged from the East Asian country’s army on July 2 this year, according to South Korean national television channel, KBS.

He was arrested by a police and military task force for having stolen a sparking-plug for explosives in October 2017 while participating in special training on demolition techniques.

The man is accused of having collected video clips of Daesh operations and other related materials to post online. The TV report said investigation authorities had seized emails Park had received from Daesh on how to join the terror group.

South Korean police and military started their probe after obtaining intelligence on Park provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If the allegations are found to be true, it would be the second reported Daesh-linked case involving a South Korean national.

In 2015, a 17-year-old South Korean, identified only as Kim, disappeared after telling family he was going to study in Turkey. Authorities suspect he made his way into Syria to try and join Daesh.

Although police could not confirm he linked up with the terror group, they found evidence of his interest in the Islamic militants on his Twitter account. The teenager had posted a picture of a Daesh flag and frequently tweeted, “I want join” while asking to meet “brothers.” He had followed pro-Daesh accounts and often retweeted the group’s propaganda.