▲ Suspect Choi, who went on a knife rampage in Guwol-dong, Incheon
It has been confirmed that the suspect, identified by the surname A, who went on a knife rampage at a large commercial facility in Incheon, received a suspended prison sentence 22 years ago for his first attempted murder crime because he reached a settlement with the victim.
A was later tried two more times for knife-related crimes, including attempted murder and assault, but his maximum sentence was limited to four years in prison.
According to court rulings, in July 2004, when A's rented home went up for auction and he was unable to get back his deposit of 9 million won, he visited the employee of the real estate agency who had introduced him to the house in September of the same year.
A, who had hidden a fruit knife inside his sock, waited for other employees to leave before approaching behind the victim and stabbing him in the shoulder and chest.
The first-instance court pointed out that A committed the crime while recognizing the risk that the victim could die, but sentenced him to five years in prison by taking into account factors such as A being a first-time offender with no criminal record, the crime being impulsive, and him expressing remorse.
Subsequently, the appellate court reduced the sentence to two years and six months in prison with a three-year probation period on the grounds that A had settled with the victim.
After being released, A committed another knife crime in 2007.
An argument broke out while he was drinking with a woman he was cohabiting with, surnamed B. When B first attacked A with a fruit knife she was holding, A snatched the knife and stabbed B.
The court sentenced A, who was indicted alongside B under the Act on the Punishment of Violences, to one year and six months in prison with a three-year probation period.
The ruling also reflected the facts that B had likewise attacked and injured A, and that both parties did not wish for each other to be punished.
A subsequently registered his marriage with B and later divorced. In 2015, he was indicted again on charges of attempting to murder B and was sentenced to four years in prison.
At that time, when B refused to reconcile, A stabbed B multiple times in the arm, hand, and heart area with a kitchen knife.
Even though a police officer dispatched to the scene struck his arm with a baton, A did not let go of the kitchen knife and continued trying to stab B.
The first-instance court determined that A posed a high risk of re-offending and ordered him to wear a location-tracking electronic monitor for 10 years after his release.
A's score on the risk assessment scale for reoffending was 14 points, placing him in the high level.
The court at the time stated that it reflected in the sentencing the fact that A had fully confessed to the crimes and expressed remorse.
A submitted dozens of letters of apology to the court.
A appealed by claiming mental and physical weakness, arguing that he had psychiatric issues and was drunk at the time of the incident, but the court dismissed the appeal.
After completing his sentence and returning to society, A—while wearing an electronic ankle monitor—wielded a weapon indiscriminately against 10 strangers on the 13th at the C&C building, a large commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon.
Among the victims, a 19-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest. After undergoing emergency surgery, her heartbeat returned, but she is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit in an unconscious state requiring mechanical ventilation.
Five other victims are receiving inpatient treatment, while two others with relatively minor injuries are receiving outpatient treatment.
The remaining two victims were found to be uninjured.
The Incheon Namdong Police Station applied for an arrest warrant for A yesterday on charges of attempted murder and carrying a weapon in a public place.
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