Protecting the right to self-defense

The latest spate of terrible killings immediately demands strong actions from the law enforcement agency.

A slew of copycat threats continue to target innocent citizens at airports, subway stations, and schools amid sudden outbursts of random stabbing and killing rampage in Korea.

Following an eariler online threat to hit people with a truck at Incheon International Airport and kill them with a knife, a similar attack warning was issued at Gimhae International Airport. The threats mimic the rampage by 22-year-old Choi Won-jong who randomly stabbed people inside a department store near Seohyeon Station in Budang near Seoul. After similar threats were made targeting at airports in Gimpo, Jeju and Daegu, armed police were urgently dispatched to five airports.

An elementary school and kindergarten had to close in Ulsan after a threat was made against the school. Online threats of random killings numbered 187 as of last week. Police caught 59 people, of whom three were arrested. More than half or 57.6 percent came from teenagers, including minors under 14 who can be waived from criminal persecution.

Prank threats not just waste police force but also can invite heavy punishment on the individuals. Authorities are deliberating to apply the charge of premeditated murder, not blackmail. If the heavier charge is accepted in the court, the offender could face up to 10 years in prison.

Unprecedented anxiety and confusion are building up in the society due to rising crimes, hoax threats, and scare from panic. Authorities must demonstrate confidence to combat copycat crimes and restore order for society. One police officer confessing the hardship of controlling an armed crime scene went viral to aggravate the public anxiousness. He argued that officers could face civil and criminal liability for their “over-response.” Police officers should be more proactive to ensure public safety since Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon ordered the ministry to find ways to apply immunity to police officers using weapons to suppress an armed aggressor.

Measures on crimes from mental disorder also must be enhanced. Choi and Jo Hyun-sung, who wielded a knife in a broad daylight at Sillim Subway Station to kill one and injuring three others, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the 20-something man who killed a high school teacher in Daejon had been suffering from depression. Violent crimes by people with serious mental disorders have not been contained even after the killing rampage by Ahn In-deuk in Jinju, South Gyeongsanng four years ago. Institutionalization of segregation of highly-dangerous mentally-ill upon court judgment must be considered now. The latest spate of terrible killings immediately demands strong actions from the law enforcement agency.