“I’ve always told my kids to be careful when going abroad because of the fear of guns, but now I’m more afraid of being in South Korea,” Lee Young-ja , a 78-year-old Seongnam resident who fled after hearing people scream during Thursday’s incident, told Reuters.
Another local resident, Choi Jun-ho, 26, said he remained extremely vigilant on his way to work on Friday morning near the mall where the stabbings took place.
“It’s annoying,” Choi said. “Something like this could happen right next to me.”
President Yoon Suk Yeol called the incident an act of terrorism against innocent citizens and ordered the police to mobilize all available resources to allay public concerns.
On social networks, a list of threats of copycat attacks was circulating.
“I told my family and friends to stay home,” said a 31-year-old Seoul resident. She spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears for her safety.
“I hope that the people who publish these threats will all be tracked down and severely punished.”
Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun on Thursday warned South Koreans to be on their guard against such attacks and asked authorities to be vigilant.
Experts said there was a risk that similar crimes could follow and urged authorities to quickly analyze patterns of recent rampage crimes to come up with countermeasures.
“The fact that the suspects do not have clear motives does not necessarily mean that there is no way to prevent these crimes,” said Kim Do-woo, professor of police science at Kyungnam University. .
For example, police should closely monitor and proactively intervene when there are reports of suspicious activity in crowded public places, as the two stabbing attacks in recent weeks took place near subway stations, said Kim.
