As knife attacks rise, police weigh heavy burden of deadly force

A police officer collapses after being attacked by a man in his 50s wielding a knife in Dong District, Gwangju, Feb. 26. Yonhap

In February, two police officers in Gwangju responded to a report from two women who said a stranger had trailed them and watched as they punched in the security code to open the door to their residence.

When confronted by the officers, the suspect drew a 30-centimeter knife and lunged toward them. One officer discharged a stun gun but missed. Police then opened fire — marking the first and only use of live ammunition by law enforcement in Korea between January and August of this year.

In a country largely spared from gun violence, knife attacks are occurring with increasing frequency — and earlier this year, a murder involving a homemade firearm shocked the public. Yet despite the rising threats, police remain hesitant to use live ammunition in the field, according to law enforcement officials and public safety experts.

Police use of live ammunition in Korea is governed by stringent regulations that often mandate a warning shot and require the use of “minimum force,” aiming for “the least injurious area.” These rules contribute to a deep reluctance among police to use live ammunition and correspondingly low rates of firearms use in the field.

Data submitted last month to Rep. Suh Bum-soo of the main opposition People Power Party show that police discharged live rounds four times in 2024, eight times in 2023 and five times each in 2022 and 2021 — never exceeding 10 incidents in any of the past four years.

By contrast, Tasers were used 245 times as of August this year. Police discharged them more than 400 times annually over the past three years — 427 in 2024, 435 in 2023 and 426 in 2022.

A man suspected of killing two people and seriously injuring two others is transferred to Siheung Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, May 19. Yonhap

A police officer in Seoul with more than five years of experience, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Korea Times that it is not easy to use live ammunition in the field.

"Officers usually respond to reports knowing a suspect is at the scene, which means they are rarely caught off guard. They can prevent situations from escalating to the point where live ammunition is needed in advance,” the officer said.

“If officers do fire their weapons, their superiors may question why the situation escalated that far, asking whether they could have kept a safe distance and used alternatives such as Tasers. They may also face lawsuits for damages.”

Experts agree that discharging live ammunition carries a significant psychological and professional burden for police officers.

Kim Do-woo, a professor of police administration at Kyungnam University, said that rules on police firearm use are overly stringent, with vague wording such as “when there is a reasonable cause” creating uncertainty and leaving officers to bear most of the responsibility when problems arise.

“After firing live ammunition, officers may have to file reports on their actions, and a review panel may be convened to judge whether it was appropriate,” Kim said. “From legal liability to the risk of injuring someone, the burden on officers is considerable.”

Kim added that current police firearm rules do not reflect today’s realities, with knife attacks increasing.

A police line is set up outside the home of a suspect who fatally shot family members in Incheon with a homemade gun, in Dobong District, Seoul, July 21. Police later removed homemade explosives from the residence. Yonhap

According to the National Police Agency, knife-related cases among the nation’s murder, rape, robbery, theft and assault cases rose 20.6 percent between 2011 and 2021, from about 6,500 to 7,900.

In 2023, a wave of stabbings shook the nation, prompting police to launch a special crackdown on knife crimes that August. In July, a 33-year-old man killed one person and wounded three others in southern Seoul.

About two weeks later, in August, a 22-year-old man drove into pedestrians in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and then carried out a knife attack, with the two assaults leaving two dead and 12 injured.

“The current situation is a grave emergency that seriously threatens public safety,” then-National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said at the time.

But knife attacks continued.

In April, a student stabbed six people at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. In May, a man in his 50s killed two and wounded two in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, prompting authorities to issue safety alerts urging residents to stay indoors.

There was also a case involving a homemade gun.

In July, a man in his 60s built a firearm after watching YouTube videos and fatally shot his son at his own birthday party.

Lim Joon-tae, a police administration professor at Dongguk University, said the courts could help ease the burden on officers over the use of live ammunition.

“The courts’ rulings on police firearm use directly shape officers’ attitudes, since they issue the final judgments,” Lim said. “If courts ease requirements for firearm use, based on social consensus that severe violent crimes make gun use necessary, officers would have more leeway to consider using them in the field.”

As part of their response, police are introducing low-risk handguns that fire plastic bullets at one-tenth the power of regular guns, making them less lethal while compensating for Tasers’ limits.

Next year, 1,410 will be deployed, with funding for just over 7,700 additional units.