"Wanted to Make News": Attacker Claims Rampage Was for Attention While Receiving Athlete's Foot Treatment

[Anchor]

During police questioning, a man surnamed Choi stated that he wanted to create a news story to gain attention. Police plan to deploy a profiler for additional investigations before seeking an arrest warrant.

Reporting from Jeong Jiyeon.

[Reporter]

The suspect in his 50s, surnamed Choi, who carried out the knife rampage, reportedly told police during an investigation conducted on the morning of October 14 that he "thought about making a news story because he had grievances."

He reportedly stated, "Since no one would listen to my story, I looked for a way to let society know, and thought committing a major crime would bring me attention."

Investigations revealed that Choi had been holding a one-person protest since last August after becoming dissatisfied while receiving hospital treatment for athlete's foot. He reportedly harbored resentment when no one paid attention to him and he instead became the subject of a police investigation following a report by the hospital.

However, police explained, "Considering that Choi is rambling and committed the crime against complete strangers, some parts of his motive defy common sense," adding that they have deployed a profiler to continue investigating the motive behind the crime.

Police also stated that security camera footage from the time of the incident confirmed the number of victims in the knife rampage has increased by one from yesterday's announcement, bringing the total to 10.

Among them are 4 men and 6 women, with a total of 5 victims currently receiving hospital treatment.

A 19-year-old woman who was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest and whose pulse returned has not yet regained consciousness.

[Merchant : People were having meals at the restaurant at that time, and since there were a lot of people, he seemed to have chosen that spot. So that's where it happened.]

It was found that Choi had a meeting at a probation office yesterday morning, even had lunch with his probation officer, and arrived at the scene of the crime at 1:44 PM.

Based on his whereabouts, police stated it is presumed that he brought the weapon used in the crime from home and strapped it to both of his arms just before the attack.

Police plan to apply for an arrest warrant later today and are also reviewing the possibility of disclosing his identity, taking into consideration the public's right to know and the effect of crime prevention.

(Camera: Choe Dae-woong | Video Editing: Kim Jin-won | Design: Yang Gi-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.