Fear, anxiety spread after multiple stabbing incidents

Anxiety and fear are spreading among Koreans after a random vehicle and stabbing attack late Thursday afternoon in Seongnam, south of Seoul, with many voicing concerns about safety and some even choosing to cancel their outings to crowded areas.

On Thursday, a 23-year-old man surnamed Choi was captured after he drove a car on a pedestrian walkway, injuring five, and going on a random stabbing rampage at a nearby department store, further injuring nine near Seohyeon Subway Station in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province at around 5:55 p.m. Two of the victims are reportedly in critical condition.

The incident was followed by another stabbing attack made by a man against a high school teacher in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon, on Friday morning. The suspect has been nabbed two hours after the attack, and police are looking into the motive behind the attack believing the suspect knew the victim who was left in critical condition, according to reports.

Both cases came just weeks after a deadly stabbing rampage in Silim-dong, Seoul on July 21, which led to a flurry of calls for stauncher punishment against heinous crimes and stronger security measures.

The cases were also followed by a series of anonymous threats posted online of similar attacks in crowded areas, further raising anxiety and concern among the public.

Cho, an office worker who commutes near Seohyeon Station, recounted experiencing extreme panic on Thursday night while trying to go home after work.

“There is no guarantee that such incidents won't happen again, and the thought of having to worry every day in my daily life is mentally exhausting,” Cho said.

A woman in her 50s surnamed Kim also expressed her anxiety, saying, "Whenever I hear such news, I worry that it could have happened to our family if we were there. I am even considering canceling a family trip we had planned."

An office worker in her 30s surnamed Song started sharing a so-called "murder warning list" with her friends. This list involves quickly disseminating locations mentioned in murder threat posts found on online communities.

Numerous people have been voicing their worries through social media, expressing concerns about living apart from their families.

"Even if there was an emergency situation like a fire, I don't think I'd be able to run away because there might be someone who's waiting to stab me, or anyone who is running away," one user wrote on the social media platform X.

Others said they were hesitant about letting their young children go outside, and that they had lost trust in their neighbors.

Following the incident, President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday instructed as many police personnel to be mobilized as possible to deal sternly with such crimes.

National Police Commissioner Yoon Hee-keun held a press briefing later Friday and vowed special preventive measures for security, including wider use of physical force in emergency cases as well as inspection of anyone suspected of carrying weapons.