Man in 40s Carrying 21.5cm Knife Visits Customs Office Over Denied Clearance

The Incheon International Airport Police Corps announced today (Nov. 2) that they have booked a man in his 40s, designated as A, without detention on charges of visiting the customs chief's office while carrying a weapon because his imported goods were not cleared.

A is suspected of carrying an outdoor knife near the Incheon Airport Customs chief's office in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport at around 11:30 a.m. on October 28.

Investigations showed that A harbored a grievance because an outdoor knife with a total length of 21.5 cm that he had imported in the past cleared customs without issue, but customs authorities recently refused to clear another knife of the same length, stating that prior police approval was required.

The police accompanied A voluntarily for questioning and applied for a pre-trial detention warrant, but the prosecution rejected the warrant, considering points such as the fact that A did not swing the weapon and that he claimed he only wanted to directly compare the length with the previously cleared product.

A police official stated, "Given the characteristics of the airport as a densely populated public facility, simply possessing a weapon is subject to investigation," adding, "We plan to forward A to the prosecution without detention."

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