The Ministry of Justice said it will conduct a full review of its electronic monitoring supervision system after a man in his 50s wearing an electronic ankle monitor wielded a knife at a large commercial complex in Incheon, injuring eight shoppers. The man had recently been booked on suspicion of possessing a weapon, and on the day of the attack he had met with a probation officer and undergone a medication test, according to the ministry.
In a statement on the 13th, the ministry said, "We deeply apologize for causing great concern to the public over the knife attack by a person under electronic monitoring in Incheon," adding that it would "conduct a full review of the electronic monitoring supervision system and swiftly prepare necessary institutional improvements and supplementary measures."
Nine people were injured in the attack at a commercial complex in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon. The assailant, identified only as A, wielded the knife at around 1:40 p.m. at the complex, which houses a Homeplus store. A was subject to wearing an electronic location tracking device, or ankle monitor, until February 2029, and is known to have committed the crime while wearing it. Among the injured, a woman in her 20s was in cardiac arrest, while the remaining seven men and women in their 20s to 50s were taken to hospitals for treatment.
The ministry said A had complied with supervision since electronic monitoring began in 2019, had continuously received psychiatric treatment and had not reoffended. Recently, however, while staging a one-person protest against a hospital with which A had been in conflict, A used a kitchen knife brought from home to punch holes in a placard and was booked on suspicion of possessing a weapon. Alcohol addiction counseling and psychological counseling to ease symptoms of mental illness were also under way.
Supervision was also carried out on the day of the attack. According to the ministry, A held an addiction counseling session with an outside expert from 10 to 11 a.m., then met with a probation officer from 11:20 to 11:55 a.m. and underwent a test for medication prescribed for mental illness. The test showed the medication had been taken. The probation officer then had lunch with A until around 12:30 p.m.
Police found a large quantity of drugs among A's belongings. A also stated during questioning that A had taken drugs at the time of the attack. Police plan to request an analysis from a relevant agency to determine whether the drugs taken qualify as psychotropic substances.