Seohyeon Station Stabber Was a Gifted Child Who Won an Olympiad Award

On the evening of the 3rd, Choi (22), who indiscriminately rampaged with a vehicle and a weapon at Seohyeon Station in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, injuring 14 citizens, is known to be a gifted individual with a history of winning Olympiad awards during middle school.

On the 5th, Dong-A Ilbo reported that Choi is a gifted individual who grew up in an ordinary, highly educated middle-class family. According to the report, Choi participated in an Olympiad during his third year of middle school and won awards, particularly showing talent in science fields such as mathematics.

Choi began to go astray after entering a general high school instead of a specialized high school. While studying computer programming in middle school, he hoped to enter a specialized high school, but around that time, he developed schizoid personality disorder, which led him to ultimately attend a general high school. Shortly after, Choi decided to drop out, saying, "I couldn't go to a good specialized high school like my older brother. I won't attend this trivial general high school."

On the afternoon of the 3rd, near Seohyeon Station in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, Choi was driving a Morning vehicle and charged onto the sidewalk, hitting pedestrians just before a stabbing rampage. The photo shows the vehicle he used in the crime.
Photo by Yonhap News

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Choi's older brother attended a specialized high school and entered a prestigious university, and Choi is currently reported to be a senior at a national university.

Choi is suspected of wildly swinging a weapon at citizens on the 1st and 2nd floors of AK Plaza Department Store in Seohyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, at 5:59 p.m. on the 3rd, injuring people. Nine citizens were injured during the weapon rampage, eight of whom sustained serious injuries. Prior to the weapon rampage, Choi drove his mother's Morning passenger car onto the road leading to the second floor of the department store, rammed into pedestrians on the sidewalk, then got out and entered the department store to commit additional crimes. Five people were injured in the vehicle ramming, four of whom were seriously injured.

Choi, who lives alone near Seohyeon Station, the crime scene, was investigated to have visited Seohyeon Station after purchasing two weapons at a large mart the day before the incident, determined to commit the crime.

According to the police, Choi was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder (schizotypal personality disorder), a pre-schizophrenia stage, three years ago in 2020. However, it is known that he did not receive treatment afterward. Immediately after being arrested by the police on the 3rd, Choi incoherently claimed, "Someone tried to hire a hitman to kill me. The police must protect me," and "A certain group is stalking, harassing, and trying to kill me. They are watching all my private life."

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