University student council catches suspect in knife attack threat

This image shows a knife attack warning at Kangwon National University, posted Tuesday on the suspect's Instagram page. (Instagram)

After police caught a man who warned of a knife attack at the Kangwon National University festival on Tuesday, it was revealed that members of the school's student council had played a crucial role in apprehending the suspect.

The suspect -- who was revealed to be a 21-year-old student of the school -- posted on his Instagram page at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday that he would attack those at the student-run bar at the festival on the university's main campus in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. He wrote that he would visit between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. with two knives, a hammer and a pickax, and launch an attack.

Kim Woo-seok, the 25-year-old student council president, and Jeong Ji-min, the 24-year-old council vice president, first reported the case to the police. Police dispatched officials across campus and traced the IP address to catch the culprit.

At the same time, student council members actively tried to locate the suspect themselves. They were able to identify the suspect and were notified by their friends that he was wandering around campus.

Kim and Jeong, who had been patrolling the area, caught the suspect and handed him over to the police at around 8 p.m.

The suspect was not carrying any weapons. He told police that he never actually intended to carry out the attack and his warning was "just a joke." No weapons were found after searching his home.

The suspect is being investigated for intimidation and obstruction of performance of official duties by fraudulent means.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)