Public concern grows over self-defense weapons used for crime

Public calls have risen for the need for tougher regulation of weapons intended for self-defense after a rape and murder in Seoul’s Sillim-dong on Aug. 17, in which the attacker punched a woman using brass knuckles he purchased online.

The woman was declared dead two days after the incident, enraging the public even further. Brass knuckles are metal bands that are worn over the fingers to concentrate a punch’s force into a smaller area.

Although tentative autopsy results revealed that the Sillim-dong victim died of strangulation, rather than as a direct result of the punches, public concern has grown over how easy it is to obtain weapons that could be used for criminal purposes.

On news sites and online forums, a growing number of people called for tougher regulations on what weapons can be purchased. Self-defense weapons are sold in some physical stores, but are more widely available for purchase online.

Park Hae-won, a 24-year-old university student, was one such local consumer who looked for self-defense weapons online.

“I went online to buy something small to protect myself, since I live alone and because I felt like I should be responsible for protecting myself these days,” said Park. “But seeing that there are so many self-defense weapons out there available for anyone to buy, I wonder if buying something for myself would even be useful, since whoever wants to do harm to me could have something even stronger.”

There has recently been an increase in demand for self-defense weapons in South Korea, following a string of violent crimes, including a stabbing rampage near Sillim Station in Gwanak District, southern Seoul on July 21 and another at Seohyun Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on Aug. 3.

According to the online retail platform Gmarket, sales of weapons from July 22 to Aug. 3 rose 243 percent compared to the same period last year. Among these items were brass knuckles, which have the potential to kill.

There are no additional personal identity or age verification processes one must go through to purchase such items at low prices. For example, on most local e-commerce platforms brass knuckles are available starting from 5,000 won ($3.78) plus a minor delivery fee.

The recent incident in Sillim-dong isn’t the only case where a self-defense weapon was misused as a lethal weapon in South Korea.

On Friday, a man in his 20s aggressively beat another man with brass knuckles in Incheon. In December 2022, a man in his 20s beat a woman to death with a metal baton in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.

Metal batons -- like brass knuckles -- have also faced controversy for their potential to be used for criminal purposes.

Because of the possibility of certain self-defense weapons like brass knuckles and metal batons being misused, some countries have banned the use and possession of such weapons. In the United States, a total of 22 states ban the possession of brass knuckles; 17 states require a permit; and the remaining 12 states have no limitations. Countries like Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom also list brass knuckles and metal batons as “prohibited weapons.”

Police are looking into proposing a law that prohibits the possession of weapons like brass knuckles that could be used for criminal purposes.

Professor Lee Keon-su from Baekseok University's Department of Police Administration additionally has called for specific criteria to assess how much damage a weapon could cause.

“A weapon's purpose needs to be clearly defined. If what is known as a self-defense weapon has a higher possibility of it being used for criminal purposes, its usage should be limited,” Lee said.