A police line is set up near Sillim Station in Seoul on July 21, 2023, after a man went on a stabbing rampage there killing one man and wounding three others. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A Seoul court issued a warrant Sunday to arrest a man suspected of murdering one man and wounding three others in last week’s deadly stabbing rampage near Sillim subway station in southwestern Seoul.
The Seoul Central District Court granted a warrant to arrest the 33-year-old suspect, surnamed Cho, on charges of murder and attempted murder, citing fears he might flee.
On Friday, Cho was detained after stabbing a complete stranger in his 20s multiple times to death with a weapon near Seoul’s Sillim Station and then wounding three other men by wielding the weapon in a nearby alleyway.
The suspect and the victims were strangers, police said.
As he left the Seoul Gwanak Police Station earlier in the day to attend the court hearing, Cho said he committed the crime due to his unspecified “extreme hardship.”
“I committed the crime due to my extreme hardship. I am repenting,” Cho told reporters without elaborating on what hardship he has been in.
He repeatedly said to reporters, “I’m sorry,” with his eyes closed as he left the police station.
Upon arrival at the court, Cho said he had been in “too bad a situation since a long time ago” but did not elaborate.
“It was too wrong of me,” he said. “I am a useless person. I’m sorry.”
During the police investigation, the suspect reportedly confessed to have been “filled with anger” while committing the crime and said he “wanted to make other people miserable” because he was also living a miserable life.
One of the three injured victims has been discharged from the hospital while the two others are still receiving treatment, according to police.
Meanwhile, the police have requested that the Korea Communications Standards Commission delete CCTV footage of the stabbing rampage uploaded online and prevent people from accessing the videos.
Police said they will strengthen monitoring of where the footage is being spread online and investigate online users who repeatedly upload or share such videos with others, considering the footage could inflict secondary damage on the victims and aggravate public concern.
(Yonhap)
