"You'll Never Catch Me": Incheon High School Bomb Threat Suspect Taunts Police as Manhunt Stalls

Investigation Stalled by Five Layers of VPN Bypass
Four Days of Threats... Students Switch to Remote Learning

As bomb threats continue to be posted against Daein High School in Incheon day after day, the police have launched an investigation but are facing difficulties tracking down the suspect. Instead, the perpetrator has mocked the investigation by posting taunting messages directed at the police.

The fire department responding to Daein High School on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Incheon Fire Department and other sources on October 17, a post appeared on the 119 Safety Report Center website the previous day, stating, "I am the author of the Daein High School bombing incident. You will never catch me. I bypassed VPN (Virtual Private Network) five times, so you can't do anything."

The individual believed to be the perpetrator ridiculed the police investigation, writing, "You worked hard chasing after ××× for four days. Since you are the dedicated response team, you were doing ××. I laughed while watching."

From October 13 to 16, threatening messages claiming that explosives had been planted at Daein High School were continuously posted on the 119 Safety Report Center. As a result, the school was temporarily closed, and students switched to remote learning.

The perpetrator stated the previous day, "I checked your investigative abilities and finalized my plan. See you at the actual terror attack today," and added, "Manage the rice fields behind the school. It's too easy to access. I entered by climbing over the wall, and there were no CCTVs, which was great." The suspect also warned, "There will be four explosions between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m." However, after searches conducted by the police and fire authorities, no explosives were found.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency has deployed a dedicated response team of 30 investigators from the criminal, cyber, and women and youth divisions. However, it is known that tracking the suspect's internet protocol (IP) address is difficult because the suspect has used multiple VPN bypasses.

A police official stated, "We are continuing to track the suspect." The dedicated response team is currently strengthening both online and offline investigative cooperation and is also working with the National Police Agency for international joint investigations.