Police apprehend 173 suspects, half of them teens, for allegedly posting murder threats online

▲ Police detectives patrol a baseball game in Gwangju, 267 kilometers south of Seoul, in this file photo taken Aug. 8, 2023, after a series of murder threats were uploaded online following the recent stabbing rampages in Sillim station and Bundang. (Yonhap)

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Police apprehend 173 suspects, half of them teens, for allegedly posting murder threats online

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- Police caught 173 people, half of them minors, on suspicions of posting online murder threats, officials said Friday, in the wake of recent back-to-back deadly stabbing rampages.

A total of 399 posts containing murder threats had been found as of early Friday, since the stabbing rampage near Sillim Station in Seoul killed one person and injured three others on July 21, according to the National Office of Investigation.

The police have apprehended 173 people responsible and formally arrested 20 of them.

Nearly half of those caught were teenagers, including children under the age of 14 who are not subject to criminal prosecution, officials said.

On Tuesday, 39 police officers were sent to search the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul until midnight, after an 11-year-old uploaded a murder threat on social media, saying she will stab people at an idol group concert.

The elementary school student was arrested by police the following day, and referred to the juvenile department in the Seoul Family Court on Thursday.

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