Man stabs 3 people before killing himself at tax office in Seoul

National Tax Service's Jamsil branch building / Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

A 50-year-old man armed with a knife injured three employees of the National Tax Service's Jamsil branch and killed himself after by drinking a poisonous substance, Wednesday.

Songpa Police Station in eastern Seoul said Thursday that the man, surnamed Nam, stabbed one female and two male workers with a knife at the branch office around 5 p.m. The victims were immediately taken to a hospital, and are not in critical condition.

Nam tried to hurt himself with the weapon right after the attack and drank a poisonous substance. He died while being taken to a hospital. Police said his self-inflicted knife wound was not critical.

Police have applied for an autopsy on Nam's body. “We are investigating exactly what the substance was that he drank and are checking other details of the crime,” a police officer said.

It has been revealed that the female victim had filed a request for a restraining order with the police against Nam in December, according to police. At the time, police accepted the request and had him wear a smartwatch that would inform the police if he approached her.

But Nam was not wearing the watch when he committed the crime at the tax office. Police are investigating the relationship between Nam and the woman as well as the exact motive behind the crime.