Controversy Over Police Response: Officers Seen Walking Slowly to Scene of Stabbing Where Middle Schoolers Were Attacked

A police officer pauses while climbing the stairs, then continues to ascend alongside other officers.

The officers walk up the building stairs slowly, step by step, at a casual pace. This was their arrival at a motel in Changwon after receiving an emergency call during a critical situation.

On December 3 of last year, a 20-something male was wielding a weapon inside a room in this building, stabbing middle school students and leaving them bleeding. A "Code Zero"—the highest-level emergency alert issued for the most urgent violent crimes such as murder or weapon-related rampages—had been declared.

Despite being stabbed, the victimized students managed to call 112 twice, accurately providing the name of the motel and the room number.

However, despite these desperate pleas for help, two of the middle school students, a boy and a girl, ultimately lost their lives, and another was seriously injured.

The victims had gone to the location to rescue a friend who was being held captive when they met with the tragedy.

In this context, footage from CCTV cameras at the time of the police arrival, which was secured and released by the bereaved families, has spread online. It has drawn sharp criticism, with comments such as, "They look like office workers returning from lunch," and "They show no sense of professional duty."

This is not the only controversy surrounding the police's inadequate response.

Just five hours before the incident, the perpetrator had been investigated by police for allegedly visiting a woman's home while armed with a weapon, but was released after two hours on the grounds that the criteria for an emergency arrest were not met.

It was also revealed that while the suspect was a registered sex offender on the "Sex Offender Notification e" system, he was not actually living at his registered address, bringing the authorities' poor management of sex offenders under scrutiny as well.

This is why critics argue that the police's complacent initial response and lax supervision of the criminal led to this tragedy for the teenagers.

The bereaved families have filed a lawsuit against the state for 500 million won in damages, stating, "Since the incident, we have been living in a living hell as parents. We want to hold the police, the Ministry of Justice, and the Republic of Korea clearly accountable."

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.