Man Receives 4-Year Jail Term for Waving Knife Near the President’s Office

A man in his 70s arrested for wielding a knife and stabbing two police officers in front of the main gate of the Defense Ministry in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The 11th Criminal Agreement of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Bae Sung-jung) sentenced this man, Mr. A, to four years in prison on the 26th for charges including attempted murder and obstruction of special public execution. The court also ordered three years of probation.

Mr. A was put on trial for attempting to murder two police officers by wielding a weapon in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, around 1:20 PM on October 31st last year.

During the process of restraining Mr. A, two police officers from the 202nd Security Unit, responsible for the outer security of the Presidential Office, were stabbed in the arm and abdomen and were transported to the hospital. Mr. A was arrested on the spot five minutes after the report, around 1:25 PM.

He was also charged with assaulting a police officer on duty with a wooden cane in front of the Seoul Regional Veterans Agency in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on September 8th last year.

During the police investigation, Mr. A stated, “I committed the crime because an agent from the National Intelligence Service blocked me from receiving my pension of 510,000 won ($430) deposited every month at the bank.”

During the subsequent trial, Mr. A’s side acknowledged the charges but requested mitigated punishment due to mental illness and impaired judgment.

In response, the court pointed out, “The defendant assaulted a police officer with a cane last September, obstructing public duty, and in October, he wielded a weapon and injured two police officers. He committed a serious crime that could have resulted in death by swinging a weapon towards the abdomen and neck.”

However, the court stated, “Considering that the defendant suffers from a mental disorder and has no prior violent crime convictions outside of this case, we will not order the attachment of an electronic device,” explaining the reasons for the sentence.

Meanwhile, after being sentenced, Mr. A said, “Give me a chance to speak,” and expressed his resentment by saying, “I only wanted to receive my pension, but I was blocked from receiving it.”

By. Soo Jung Shin