SEOUL (AFP) – South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol called yesterday for mobilising all possible forces and police announced they won’t hesitate to use their firearms after a series of stabbings shook the typically low-crime country.
The second mass stabbing in two weeks took place last Thursday in Bundang, about 20 kilometres (km) southeast of Seoul, when an attacker drove a car into a pedestrian walkway before attacking people at a department store, police said.
At least two people remain in critical condition, authorities said, while copycat threats were posted online hours after the incident.
“The indiscriminate knife-wielding attack at Seohyeon Station is an act of terrorism against innocent citizens,” Yoon said in a statement released by his office.
“The government must mobilise all police forces to make sure the public does not feel anxious,” he said.
Hours after the president’s remarks, a high school teacher was reportedly attacked with a knife in Daejeon, around 139km south of Seoul.
