Yoon orders toughest measures against stabbing rampage, vehicle attack near Seoul

▲ Policemen are stationed at Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, on Aug. 4, 2023, as a man in his 20s randomly stabbed and wounded 14 people at a department store adjacent to the subway station the previous day. (Yonhap)

Yoon-stabbing rampage

Yoon orders toughest measures against stabbing rampage, vehicle attack near Seoul

SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday instructed all possible police forces to deal sternly with a stabbing rampage in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, that wounded 14 people a day earlier, according to his spokesperson.

"All possible police forces should be mobilized so that the people are not uneasy," Yoon was quoted by presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye as saying. Yoon gave the instruction during his weeklong summer vacation.

On Thursday, a man drove a car onto a pedestrian walkway and went on a stabbing rampage at a department store adjacent to the Seohyeon subway station. The attack left 14 people wounded, 12 of them seriously. Of the total, nine were wounded in the stabbing attack and five in the car crash.

"The stabbing rampage at Seohyeon subway station is an act of terrorism against innocent citizens," Yoon said, further ordering precautionary measures as a series of threats to commit copycat crimes have been posted online.

Police apprehended the suspect, a man in his 20s known only by his surname Choi, just five minutes after receiving a report. The suspect is employed in the delivery industry.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved