Taipei, Nov. 20 (CNA) Anti-Korea sentiment in Taiwan sparked by a taekwondo controversy at the Asian Games has expanded in cyber space and spread to the real world, as unidentified Taiwanese threw eggs at the Korean Elementary School in Taipei Saturday morning.
The egg-throwing incident was the latest of a series of anti-Korea moves launched by angry Taiwanese, who have called for a boycott of South Korean goods, foods, television programs and entertainers.
Dozens of posts from Taiwanese users were also posted late Friday and early Saturday on the Facebook page of Cheongwadae, South Korea's presidential office, before being removed, with most users blasting the country for its unfair treatment of taekwondo star Yang Shu-chun.
To keep the uproar from going any further, Taiwan's National Police Agency (NPA) has tightened security for the South Korean representative office in Taipei, NPA spokesman Huang Chia-chi said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also requested the agency to provide extra security personnel for the South Korean office.
"The MOFA is closely monitoring the situation and believes the police will provide protection to the office and the Korean community, " MOFA spokesman James Chang said.
The South Korean representative office in Taiwan on Friday advised Korean, students, business groups and organizations in Taiwan to take safety precautions and warned them against making comments on the incident, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Yang, one of Taiwan's top gold medal hopes at the Asian Games, was disqualified from her opening round bout in the women's under 49 kg. division on Wednesday for using extra sensors on her electronic socks to increase her chances of scoring.
Video of her bout revealed, however, that the sensors were not attached to her socks during her battle with a Vietnamese opponent.
Anger has been directed at South Korea because Koreans hold most of the top positions in the sport and two of the main figures in the Yang incident were Korean or of Korean descent.
Hong Sung Chon, the technical committee member who disqualified Yang, is a Philippine national of Korean descent and a high-ranking official of the Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU).
The union drew fire when it accused Yang in a press release of committing a "shocking act of deception."
The other figure, World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Secretary-General Yang Jin-suk, has been unable to give a consistent explanation of why Yang was disqualified, earning the wrath of Taiwan's media and people.
The anger directed at South Korea, one of Taiwan's biggest economic and sports rivals in Asia, was so intense that President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih both addressed the incident personally and demanded an apology from the ATU.
Some have accused South Korea of conspiring with China to arrange Yang's disqualification, but Vice Premier Sean Chen said Friday in a press conference that "no evidence suggests the Chinese and South Korean governments were involved (in the incident)."
Anti-Korea sentiment was initially expressed in cyber space and rose to a fever pitch after the ATU's inflammatory press release issued Thursday that brand Taiwan and Yang as cheaters.
Taiwanese hackers left messages on the ATU site, saying "we all Taiwanese" and "shame on you" and demanding that the ATU "give our gold medal back."
An image showing a middle finger pointing upward between the national flags of South Korea and the People's Republic of China was also posted. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls