Incheon Stabbing Suspect’s Violent Record Draws Scrutiny After Eight Injured
Court records show the suspect in an Incheon stabbing that injured eight people had previously been convicted in multiple violent cases, including two attempted murders.
A man suspected of injuring eight people in a stabbing attack at a commercial complex in Incheon had a record of serious violent offenses stretching back more than two decades, according to an analysis of earlier court decisions.
The 59-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released, allegedly attacked people at the complex in Guwol-dong at about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. One victim, a 19-year-old, suffered cardiac arrest and remained unconscious on a ventilator as of Thursday.
Police said the suspect claimed he carried out the attack to draw attention to a grievance against a local hospital. He also reportedly told investigators that he chose victims who appeared weaker than him. Authorities have requested a formal arrest warrant, with the Incheon District Court expected to review the request on Friday.
Court records examined after the attack show a series of previous violent incidents. In 2004, following a dispute with a landlord over the return of a housing deposit, the man stabbed an employee at the real estate office that had brokered the rental agreement. He was convicted of attempted murder.
A trial court initially sentenced him to five years in prison, noting that the attack had not been planned and that he had no earlier criminal record. On appeal, however, the punishment was reduced to a 30-month prison term suspended for three years.
Three years later, he was convicted after stabbing his girlfriend during an altercation in which she had first attacked him with the same knife. The court again imposed a suspended prison sentence, taking into account how the incident began and that neither person sought punishment of the other.
The pair later married and divorced. In 2015, after the woman refused to resume their relationship, the man stabbed her multiple times in the arm, hand and near the heart. He was convicted of attempted murder, sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor for 10 years following his release in 2019.
Reports indicate that the suspect had nine criminal incidents on his record before the latest attack. The record is likely to intensify scrutiny of how repeat violent offenders are sentenced and monitored, particularly when earlier attempted-murder convictions resulted in suspended or comparatively limited prison terms.
Under South Korean law, attempted murder can carry a sentence ranging from five years in prison to the death penalty. Courts may reduce punishment for an attempted offense, and a prison term of three years or less can be suspended.