Incheon Stabbing Suspect Hides Face, Claims He Was 'Driven to a Cliff'

The man in his 50s accused of injuring eight citizens in a stabbing attack at a large Incheon commercial facility has appeared before the media for the first time since the incident.

Suspect A (59), who faces charges of attempted murder and carrying a weapon in a public place, entered the Incheon District Court this afternoon (October 16) for a pre-arrest bail hearing (warrant review).

His handcuffed hands were covered with a cloth screen, and his face was heavily concealed with a cap and a mask.

A answered questions from reporters outside the court.

When asked why he targeted strangers and if he had anything to say to the victims, he said, "I am sorry. I have committed a sin punishable by death."

He then gave a somewhat rambling response when asked why he targeted that specific shopping center and whether he intended to flee with 6.8 million won.

"I did not intend to flee; I did that because pressure was applied to me," A stated. "I was advised that even a single won would be taken away from me at the hospital, so I had set that money aside in a hurry to donate it if things became urgent. It was absolutely not an attempt to escape."

When asked what kind of pressure he experienced, he explained, "I staged a one-person protest for two and a half weeks due to side effects from hospital treatment, but instead, they pressured me with a civil lawsuit. There was pressure from a lawyer saying they would scrape away every last won through a civil suit."

Asked if he committed the crime to draw attention, A replied, "That is not it. It is because they created a situation where I had no choice but to fall off a cliff." To the question of whether he only targeted the weak, he briefly answered, "No."

Earlier today, a family member of a victim waiting outside the court shouted at A as he stepped out of a police van, protesting, "Why did you do such a thing?"

Today's warrant review was presided over by Park Young-ki, the senior judge in charge of warrants at the Incheon District Court, starting at 2:00 PM, with A's detention status expected to be decided later this evening.

A is suspected of attempting to murder 10 visitors with a weapon around 1:48 PM on October 13 at the See & See building, a large commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, which houses a large supermarket and a movie theater.

Among the victims, eight were classified as injured—including a 19-year-old woman who remains unconscious—while two others were confirmed to have escaped unhurt.

During police questioning, he claimed, "I had grievances against the hospital where I received treatment for a skin condition, but I also ended up under police investigation due to a report from the hospital. I committed the crime to make news and let society know about my grievances."

It was revealed that A has a criminal record of 10 convictions carrying fines or heavier penalties, including two prior convictions for attempted murder.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.