A midsummer nightmare

By Cho Hee-kyoung

Summer is the season for horror movies. Watching a scary movie in the cinema and getting chills is a favorite way to cope with the heat for some people.

This summer, however, there was no need to go to the cinema as the horror unfolded on our very streets as we went about our daily lives. A spate of random attacks broke out around the country, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Many people are now too anxious even to go out of the house. Why are such attacks on the rise?

The first incident occurred in late July outside Sillim Station in Gwanak District in Seoul when a man wielding a knife randomly attacked passers-by on the street. One person died and three others were injured, one seriously.

As the country was still reeling from this incident, another random attack occurred near Seohyeon Station in Bundang District, Gyeonggi Province. This time, the attacker first drove his car onto the sidewalk, ramming the vehicle into pedestrians outside a department store before stabbing shoppers with a knife inside the building. The incident left fourteen people injured with one person dying later in hospital from the injuries sustained in the attack.

Many people presumed that the Seohyeon station incident was a copycat crime based on the Sillim Station attack. On the surface, the two incidents seem to share many common elements. Both attacks were carried out by young men using a knife in broad daylight in or near a busy subway station where there is a high footfall. The victims were unlucky strangers who just happened to be passing by. But based on what has been reported so far, although the modus operandi seems similar, the motivations of the attackers were quite different and we should be slow to lump the incidents in the same category.

The suspect in the Sillim case turned out to have a long history of juvenile offenses and is reported to have said to the police that he wanted other people to be as miserable as he was. Although the attack was random, he did deliberately target young men near his age. But in the Seohyeon rampage, the attacker claimed he was being persecuted by people who were out to get him. He had a prior history of mental illness and is reported to be suffering from persecutory delusions.

These incidents are like x-ray images showing some deeply rooted problems in our society that we have not managed to address properly.

The suspect in the Sillim case was raised by his grandmother because his parents were absent. He appeared before the juvenile court a total of fourteen times and has three prior records of aggravated assault. This alone shows how our existing systems of justice and education are failing juvenile offenders. Most juvenile offenders do not receive the guidance, resources and assistance they need. Instead of becoming rehabilitated, they hone their criminal skills in juvenile detention centers. And yet, instead of looking for real solutions, the government is merely looking to lower the age of criminal responsibility.

With the Seohyeon station case, it seems more likely than not that the impetus for the crime was mental illness. There is a possibility the suspect might be claiming mental illness so that he can plead mitigation but it is a fact that he has been diagnosed with delusional paranoia and it seems more likely than not that he is not of sound mind.

It is difficult to ignore the frequency of crimes reported as being committed by people suffering from schizophrenia and delusional disorders. Our public health and welfare system do not effectively treat sufferers of mental illness who can be a danger to themselves as well as to others.

Lawmakers are responding with typical heavy-handedness proposing stiffer penalties for "random attacks" and doubling the punishment if attacks are motivated by "hatred toward society." But how should a "random attack" be defined and why should an attack motivated by a general hatred be punished more severely than one motivated by a specific hatred? These proposals merely to increase punishment are yet another example of knee-jerk responses to what are complicated problems, which require complex solutions. But since coming up with real solutions is too difficult, politicians fall back on populist pandering.

There is no simple answer on how to counter these random attacks but we can identify certain risk groups and pay more attention and provide better support. The so-called NEETs, or young people Not in Employment, Education or Training, are possibly one risk group who could easily become socially isolated and get caught up in a world of their own losing touch with reality. Another risk group is people with mental disorders who are not getting proper treatment. One lawmaker has proposed a regular mental health checkup for everyone in a way similar to a physical health checkup, which seems like a sensible idea.

There are other simple measures such as restricting access to certain types of knives or other weapons of a similar nature, which have been implemented in other countries with a certain amount of effectiveness.

Since these incidents took place, hundreds of messages have been posted on various social media platforms and online communities threatening copycat attacks around the country. It turned out that many of them were written by school-age children who thought such pranks were funny. Police responded with a show of force announcing they would take strict measures against anyone caught making such threats. There are also armed officers and military vehicles placed around the crime scenes. All of this is heightening the anxiety level among the populace. One can only hope that this summer's horror show is now over.

Cho Hee-kyoung (hongikmail@gmail.com) is a professor at Hongik University College of Law.