South Korean police detain man over stabbing of eight people at shopping mall
The 59-year-old suspect had previously served a four-year prison sentence for attempted murder. He has been fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet since his release in 2019, local media reported.
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
SEOUL: South Korean police said they had detained a man suspected of stabbing eight people on Tuesday (Oct 13) at a shopping mall in the city of Incheon, and the Yonhap news agency said one of the victims was in a life-threatening condition.
Officers are investigating the motive and circumstances of the attack, a police spokesperson said by telephone.
A witness cited by Yonhap said the suspect appeared to have knives tied to both hands and moved through several floors of the shopping mall, attacking people as he went before being subdued by bystanders and handed over to police.
President Lee Jae Myung urged a swift and rigorous investigation after visiting the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency and being briefed on the case, according to his office.
"I pray for a swift recovery of those who were harmed in today's stabbing rampage incident," Lee said in an X post.
The victims included six women and two men, Yonhap reported. One woman in her 20s underwent surgery at a nearby hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries, it added.
Yonhap said the 59-year-old suspect had previously served a four-year prison sentence for attempted murder.
The suspect has been fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet since his release in 2019, and had been receiving treatment for mental health issues and alcohol addiction, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
The electronic monitoring system is a crime prevention programme that covers people convicted of a range of crimes including murder.
The ministry pledged to conduct a thorough investigation of the system, which uses real-time GPS tracking to monitor high-risk offenders after their release from prison.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Incheon, west of Seoul, is home to South Korea's main airport and forms part of the wider Seoul metropolitan area.
South Korea is generally considered a safe country, with a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to official statistics, well below the global average of about six per 100,000.
The country has, however, seen a number of stabbing attacks in recent years.
In May 2025, a man stabbed three police officers, while three people were stabbed to death at a Seoul pizza restaurant that September.
More recently in May, a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed and another teenager hurt in the southwestern city of Gwangju by a man in his 20s, who was later sentenced by a court to life in prison.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app