At Least 42 Threatening Messages of 'Murder Notice'... Many Minors Involved

18 Authors Arrested... Including Middle School Students
Police Declare 'Special Security Operations'... Strict Response

After a series of 'random stabbing' incidents, the police launched a large-scale investigation and arrested 18 people as online posts predicting murders continued to appear nationwide.

According to the police on the 5th, there were at least 42 posts predicting murder online by 7 a.m. that day. Following the recent stabbing incident near Sillim Station in Gwanak-gu, Seoul on the 21st of last month and the stabbing incident at Seohyeon Station in Bundang on the 3rd, similar posts threatening to commit such crimes have been appearing across the country.

As the police declared a special security operation for the first time, an armored tactical vehicle was deployed near Seomyeon Station in Busan.
[Photo by National Police Agency, Yonhap News]

As of noon that day, the police had arrested 18 authors of these posts and were investigating the circumstances and criminal charges. For the remaining posts whose authors have not been identified, investigations including IP tracking are underway. Among the 18 arrested, several were minors, including middle school students.

In Seoul, a man in his 20s who posted "I will kill everyone at Wangsimni Station at 4 p.m. today" and a minor who wrote a post targeting a specific school saying "I will kill five people in front of the main gate" were both arrested. Additionally, a man in his 20s who posted "I will stab people at Hanti Station at 10 p.m. tomorrow" turned himself in and is being investigated by the Cyber Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

In Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, a 14-year-old middle school student was arrested after posting "I will commit murder around Misa Station" the previous day. On the same day, a minor who posted a stabbing threat in the Haeundae area of Busan was arrested at home by the police.

Also, an autistic teenager who posted on social media threatening to kill people with a weapon at Everland, the largest theme park in Korea, was caught by the police. On that day, the Yongin Eastern Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that they were investigating a 16-year-old boy, A, on charges of intimidation.

A is suspected of posting on social media at 11:51 a.m., "I am joining the trend. I am going to Everland today, and from 3 p.m., I will kill everyone I see by any means necessary. Consider it done." A informed his friend B about the post, and B immediately reported it to the police.

A actually visited Everland with his mother, and after being contacted by the police, A's parents handed him over to officers conducting a security check at Everland's main gate at 1:08 p.m. It was reported that A was not carrying any dangerous items such as weapons at the time. Due to A's post, the police deployed about 120 officers to Everland, and Everland itself assigned around 100 security personnel to prepare for any possible situation.

In Gumi and Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk Province, teenagers and people in their 20s were also arrested.

The Gyeongsan Police Station in Gyeongbuk arrested a man in his 20s within five hours after tracking him down for posting a stabbing threat on an anonymous community of Daegu University located in Gyeongsan. The Gumi Police Station also urgently arrested a teenage minor early that morning who posted "Next time will be a stabbing at Gumi Station" on an internet community.

On the 4th, police are patrolling Ori Station in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, one of the locations where a 'random murder' was announced.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As public anxiety grew due to the random stabbing incidents and the continuous murder threat posts, the police declared a 'special security operation' for the first time in history the previous day. Accordingly, the police deployed about 12,000 officers to patrol 247 crowded places nationwide, including subway stations and department stores. Additionally, 107 tactical officers from the police special forces (SWAT), armed with rifles and pistols, were stationed at 43 densely populated areas under the jurisdiction of 14 metropolitan and provincial police agencies nationwide.

Furthermore, tactical armored vehicles were deployed to 11 locations, including Gangnam Station in Seoul, Seomyeon Station in Busan, Seohyeon Station and Pangyo Station in Seongnam, and Suwon Station, which were either designated as crime scenes or places with large gatherings in the online murder threat posts.

Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated in an emergency public address the previous day, "We declare a special security operation to respond to heinous crimes until public anxiety is resolved," adding, "We will respond strongly without exception to irresponsible and reckless online threats of heinous crimes and baseless fake news."

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the authors of the murder threat posts on charges of intimidation and special intimidation. Intimidation carries a penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won, while special intimidation can result in up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won. If there is evidence that the suspects have specifically prepared for murder or injury, the police plan to apply charges of attempted murder or attempted injury.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.