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Police tape cordons off entrances to Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, south of Seoul, where a mass stabbing occurred on Aug. 3. (Yonhap)

On Thursday evening, Seohyeon Station in Seongnam — a commuter town near Seoul — descended into chaos as a man armed with a knife went on a rampage after driving a car into several pedestrians. The recurrence of such indiscriminate violence has left citizens horrified.

A man, aged 22, rammed his car into a crowd of passers-by around 5:56 pm at the AK Plaza mall in the Seohyeon neighborhood of Bundang District. Five adults walking on the sidewalk were knocked down by the vehicle.

After his car became lodged on the sidewalk, coming to a halt, the assailant exited from the driver’s seat. He then proceeded to the second floor of the mall, which is directly connected to the sidewalk. The AK Plaza Bundang, a department store situated directly above Seohyeon Station, sees heavy foot traffic as it is a common route for all subway commuters who must pass through it to reach the station. On weekday evenings, its first and second floors are usually teeming with people. From that point, until his apprehension at 6:05 pm, the attacker swung his knife at people while moving between these two floors.

The area surrounding Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, south of Seoul, was thrown into chaos on the night of Aug. 3 when a man drove his car, shown here, onto a sidewalk, hitting pedestrians, then went on a rampage with a knife at a nearby mall. (Kim Ga-yoon/The Hankyoreh)

Partial footage of the attack shows the assailant in a black hoodie, its hood flipped backward, and sporting dark sunglasses along with dark-colored pants and shoes. His face concealed behind a mask, the man brandished his knife, chasing after fleeing people. If a target changed direction to escape, he did not follow but instead turned his knife on another individual. He appeared to be targeting anybody within reach in an indiscriminate manner.

Witness Lee Joo-yeol, 27, recounted the horror, stating, “The perpetrator, descending from the second to the first floor on an escalator, suddenly brandished a knife and stabbed a security guard.” Lee added, “I couldn't believe such a crime could occur in a bright, populated area.”

Another witness, Moon Jang-hun, 44, shared his experience: “I heard shouts and, upon looking, saw a man and woman collapsed.” Moon described the perpetrator as a man wearing sunglasses, wildly waving a knife and attacking a person on the ground. Nine people fell victim to K’s violent rampage, eight of whom sustained serious injuries.

Police form a line at one of the entrances to AK Plaza, a major shopping mall that shares a building with Seohyeon Station, after a mass stabbing there on Aug. 3. (Kim Ga-yoon/The Hankyoreh)

Photos and video of the shocking aftermath swiftly circulated online: a seemingly injured individual lay on the department store floor, encircled by onlookers; EMTs assessed other wounded persons; and normally bustling streets were eerily cordoned off with police tape.

With footage of the event making the rounds online and on the news, many living in Korea are voicing anxiety.

“After what happened at Sillim Station and now this, it’s so unsettling. I’m scared to even go into work tomorrow,” commented a man in his 30s surnamed Park.

The perpetrator was revealed to work at a food delivery service. When being questioned by police, he said he had “been made to carry out mass contract killing for many people for a long time,” stating that he “wanted to get this out in the open and tell people.” Police plan to screen him for illicit substances.

A bloodied tissue and other objects remained on the ground outside Seohyeon Station on the night of Aug. 3, after a man went on a rampage with a knife. (Kim Ga-yoon/The Hankyoreh)

With yet another mass stabbing occurring only 13 days after one in the Sillim area of Seoul, the National Police Agency convened an emergency virtual meeting of municipal and provincial police chiefs at 8 pm on Thursday.

“In that anyone can be victimized, this string of cases are unlike conventional crimes that target victims based on personal grievances, and are essentially acts of terror,” said Yoon Hee-keun, the commissioner general of police. “We’re concerned that there may be copycat crimes.”

At the meeting, Yoon then called on the local police chiefs to “expand police presence with a focus on crowded locations.”

By Kim Ga-yoon, staff reporter

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