Police have confirmed that the second instance of graffiti vandalism on the historic Gyeongbok Palace last week was a copycat crime by the suspect in his 20s currently in pretrial detention.
 
In a written press briefing on Tuesday, National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said the suspect testified that he wanted to commit a similar crime after seeing the first vandalism on the cultural property on December 16.

The copycat crime came a day after two suspects in their teens spray painted the palace walls reportedly at the behest of an anonymous person contacted through a messaging app, leading the authorities to assign a cyber investigation unit to track down and confirm the mastermind.

The 17-year-old male suspect testified to the police that he was offered money for the deed through social media, ultimately receiving 100-thousand won, or around 77 U.S. dollars, in advance. The 16-year-old female suspect did not actually commit vandalism.

The police, meanwhile, will dispatch additional patrol vehicles and police squads around the nation's five major royal palaces of Gyeongbok, Gyeonghui, Deoksu, Changgyeong, and Changdeok through Sunday.