Six dead after fire and stabbing in Gangnam

Posted on : 2008-10-21 13:12 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
All of the victims were women, most of whom were ethnic Koreans from China
 the sister of a woman who died in the incident in Gangnam
the sister of a woman who died in the incident in Gangnam

A man in his thirties set his room at a gosiwon, an inexpensive “examination preparation lodging facility” in Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood, on fire and stabbed fellow residents as they made their escape. All of the dead were women, and most were ethnic Koreans from China who were asleep after having worked at restaurants into the wee hours of the morning. It was a “mutjima murder,” an “ask no questions” killing, in which there existed no relationship between the perpetrator and his victims.

Police say that at approximately 8:15 a.m. on October 20, a 30-year-old man by the name of Jeong poured lighter fluid on his bed and set it on fire; on his way out he stabbed female residents seeking to escape the smoke. The Gangnam Police Station said that five of the women had died from stab wounds, while one died after jumping out of a window while trying to get away.

Seven people who either suffered burns or were stabbed are being treated at Soonchunhyang and Gangnam Saint Mary’s hospitals. Three are in serious condition.

Police say they found Jeong hiding in a storage room on the building’s fourth floor and that in addition to the sashimi knife he used to stab his victims, he had additional knives strapped to his ankles.

Jeong is still under police questioning. But initial reports quote him as telling authorities that he “wanted to die” because “people disrespect me.”

Originally from Hapcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Jeong came to Seoul in 2002 and worked in restaurants and as a parking lot attendant until April of this year, since when he has been without employment. He has eight previous convictions, including refusal to appear for a military reservists’ training mobilization, and is currently facing a 1.5 million won fine for again failing to appear.

“Mr. Jeong appeared to have been wandering from place to place while financially distressed,” said a police official. “We’re still investigating exactly what made him do this.”

Most of the victims were ethnic Korean women from China in their forties and fifties who were themselves barely making ends meet while working in restaurants, making their story that much sadder.

Yi Sun-ja, upon hearing news that her older sister, 50-year-old Yi Wol-ja, had died in the incident, arrived at Soonchunhyang Hospital in Seoul’s Yongsan neighborhood and, upon hearing the news was true, collapsed in tears. Yi said five out of a family of eight siblings are in South Korea working in construction or in the restaurant industry. “Just the other day I met my older sister on the bus and she bragged about wearing expensive clothes for the first time ever,” she said. “She had always worked hard for her children. She never took a day off, and she never got to buy anything nice for herself.”

Cousins-in-law 45-year-old Kim Bo-geum and 41-year-old Jang Chae-ok were both seriously injured in the incident. Kim came to Seoul three years ago and Jang came with her husband in spring of this year. Both worked out of a temporary employment agency in Gangnam and both worked overtime in the neighborhood’s restaurants. Friends say they would work from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, then work again from 6 in the evening until 6 in the morning of the next day.

“Most of the Chinese Koreans worked day and night jobs,” said Kim In-suk, who worked with Jang at the same restaurant. “When I saw what happened on the news I knew they would have just begun to get some sleep.”

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