Police returned the kitchen knife to knife-wielding Choi Choong-rak even after identifying the danger
It has been confirmed that police returned a kitchen knife to a person carrying it even after identifying him as armed. Since possession of a weapon during a protest is a safety issue requiring swift response, questions have been raised about whether the police action was appropriate. It was revealed that police seized a kitchen knife from Choi Choong-rak, 59, who was armed during a one-person protest in front of a hospital in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, but returned it to him after the protest ended. The fact was confirmed through data submitted by the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency to Rep. Park Sang-woong of the People Power Party.
According to the data, police received a report at around 10:10 a.m. on the 9th of last month stating, in effect, that a person staging a one-person protest was carrying a kitchen knife and causing unease. Choi hung a placard bearing slogans such as "The hospital lacks expertise" on a tree, having punched a hole through it, and was found to have displayed the weapon a total of four times over the nine-hour protest. Police dispatched to the scene simply accepted Choi's statement that he was carrying the kitchen knife because he did not have a utility knife. Police placed the weapon in the custody of a nearby police substation and closed the case on the spot, without voluntarily escorting him in or arresting him in flagrante delicto.
Later, when a complaint reporting the same incident was filed with the Safety Report portal of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, police launched an investigation. After interviewing hospital officials, they questioned Choi as a suspect on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon in a public place on the 6th of this month, and confiscated the weapon he possessed through voluntary submission, but did not take him into custody. During the process of booking him as a suspect, police confirmed Choi's prior convictions for attempted murder and the fact that he was wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, and notified his probation officer of the booking, but failed to prevent the crime.
Choi was arrested on charges of attempting to murder 10 people by swinging a weapon at a commercial building in Guewol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, at around 1:48 p.m. on the 13th. During police questioning, he stated, in effect, that he committed the crime to create a news story in order to publicly expose his grievances against the hospital where he had been treated for a skin condition.
Choi Choong-rak, 59, who injured citizens by swinging a weapon at a large commercial facility in Incheon, is known to have 10 prior convictions punishable by a fine or greater, including two for attempted murder. His personal information was disclosed by police on the 16th.
