'Seohyeon Station Stabbing' Choi Won-jong's KakaoTalk Profile is 'Roh Moo-hyun + Rising Sun Flag'

by Kim Eunha

Published 25 Aug.2023 11:51(KST)

Updated 04 Sep.2023 08:26(KST)

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KakaoTalk Profile Picture and School Days Revealed

The KakaoTalk profile picture and school life of Choi Won-jong (22), the suspect in the ‘Bundang Seohyeon Station stabbing rampage’ that resulted in 14 casualties, have been revealed.

Choi Won-jong's KakaoTalk profile screen [Image source=MBC 'True Story Exploration Team' broadcast screen capture]

The MBC program ‘True Story Expedition,’ aired on the 24th, focused on the Seohyeon Station stabbing incident that occurred on the 3rd, spotlighting the suspect Choi Won-jong.

Choi Won-jong’s elementary and middle school classmates revealed that his KakaoTalk profile picture was a photo of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.

A classmate said, “His name is Choi Won-jong, but his profile picture was of former President Roh Moo-hyun. I thought, ‘Huh? What’s this?’ and clicked on it, and the Rising Sun Flag was in the background with Japanese writing. I wondered, ‘Why is he like this?’”

Choi Won-jong, the assailant involved in the stabbing incident at Seohyeon Station, is responding to reporters' questions as he leaves the detention center of Seongnam Sujeong Police Station and heads to the transport vehicle on the morning of the 10th for transfer to the prosecution. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

The Japanese text translates to “Developing a program to change history.” Choi also wrote in Japanese, “Praying changes nothing,” and “Changing the present requires a fighting spirit.”

The classmate described Choi Won-jong’s school days as “an unnoticed, ghost-like presence.” “He was usually quiet and didn’t show aggressive or negative behavior, so I was shocked to hear he did such a rampage with a knife. At first, I really thought it wasn’t him. I thought it was a different Choi Won-jong,” they said.

They also revealed that he dropped out of high school. “He quit just three or four days after starting high school,” and “He just left abruptly, and no one knows the reason,” they explained.

[Image source=MBC 'True Story Exploration Team' broadcast screen capture]

After becoming an adult, the classmate said they encountered Choi Won-jong at a local gym and greeted him, but did not receive a response. “He didn’t answer well. I’d say he was hesitant,” they described.

Before the crime, Choi posted a photo holding a weapon on an online community, writing, “A 23-year-old high school graduate delivery worker carrying a 30cm blade when going outside.” The day before the incident, he wrote, “Not many days left to live. Decades are like specks of dust,” and “On my way to eat dessert in the Seohyeon Station underground.”

On the 3rd, at around 5:56 p.m., Choi Won-jong is accused of driving a vehicle into pedestrians in front of the AK Plaza department store in Seohyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, connected to Suin-Bundang Line’s Seohyeon Station, then getting out of the car wielding a weapon and indiscriminately attacking citizens. One person died and 13 were injured. Among the injured, a woman in her 20s who was hit by the car remains in a brain-dead state.

Choi Won-jong Middle School Graduation Photo [Photo by MBC 'True Story Exploration Team' Broadcast Screen Capture]

The Forensic Science Department of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that since the 6th, they have conducted a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) test on Choi Won-jong but concluded that assessment was not possible.

The psychopathy test consists of 20 items (40 points) measuring personality traits such as coldness, impulsivity, lack of empathy, and irresponsibility. In South Korea, scoring above 25 classifies a person as a psychopath.

The police explained, “It was impossible to score detailed items related to interpersonal and emotional problems among the psychopathy evaluation factors.”