[Anchor]

Police have requested an arrest warrant with attempted murder charges for a woman in her 50s who attacked a psychiatry professor with a weapon at Yonsei University Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, yesterday (November 4). Beyond the incidents reported by the media, crimes targeting medical professionals continue unabated, amplifying calls for proper countermeasures.

Reporter Cho Min-ki has more.

[Reporter]

The suspect in her 50s, identified as A, was arrested yesterday afternoon after slashing a psychiatry professor with a weapon inside a consulting room at Severance Hospital in Sinchon.

Immediately after her arrest, A rambled, "The doctor is trying to harm me. It's making me want to commit murder." During subsequent police questioning, she made the absurd claim, "I tried to go to another hospital, but the doctor at Severance Hospital stopped me, which made me angry."

Investigations revealed that A had a history of receiving treatment at Severance Hospital twice in the past, and she brought the weapon from home hidden inside a shopping bag.

Considering that she prepared the weapon in advance, police concluded there was intent to commit murder and requested an arrest warrant for A on charges of attempted murder.

Despite the implementation of laws strengthening relevant penalties following the tragic death of Professor Lim Se-won of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, who was killed by a patient's weapon in 2018, violent attacks targeting psychiatrists continue.

[Kim Sung-keun / Spokesperson, Korean Medical Association: We urge the government to come up with fundamental, state-level measures so that medical staff are no longer threatened and can solely dedicate themselves to saving patients' lives...]

Experts advise that emergency bells and increased security personnel alone cannot completely prevent assaults on medical staff, highlighting the need for preventive measures such as maintaining distance from patients during consultations.

[Kwon Jun-soo / Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine: It is necessary to have a way to retreat backward if an emergency arises, and also to make desks longer during consultations to keep a bit more distance...]

However, some voice caution, pointing out that installing security checkpoints or conducting belongings searches—as suggested by some—could create side effects by making patients feel perceived as potential criminals.

(Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho, VJ: Lee Jun-young, Design: Lee Jong-jung)