Police reveal identity of fatal stabbing rampage suspect

Police on Wednesday identified the suspect in last week’s fatal stabbing rampage in Seoul as a 33-year-old man named Cho Seon.

Cho was formally arrested Sunday on charges of murder and attempted murder. He was apprehended Friday after fatally stabbing a complete stranger in his 20s near Seoul’s Sillim Station and then attacking three other men in a nearby alleyway.

Police disclosed Cho’s identity, including photos, citing the gravity and viciousness of his crime.

“There is greater public interest in revealing the suspect’s identity, taking into account the anxiety felt among people and in terms of preventing similar crimes in the future,” a police committee said, adding there was also sufficient criminal evidence against the suspect.

On Monday, police found that the suspect had stolen a weapon just 10 minutes before the crime, after which he took a taxi to go on a stabbing rampage near Sillim Station. The suspect reportedly told police he had planned out the crime and that he reset his phone in fear of being busted.

Cho told reporters on Sunday that he committed the crime due to unspecified “extreme hardship.” According to police, he also said during an investigation that he “wanted to make other people miserable” because he was also living a miserable life.

Police said they conducted a psychopathy test on Cho on Wednesday, and are looking into the motive and context of the crime.

By law, the identity of a suspect can be disclosed even before conviction when the crime is considered serious, there is enough evidence proving the crime, and the disclosure is necessary for people’s right to know and other public interests.