'Yatap Station Stabbing Warning' Man in His 20s Ordered to Pay 14.84 Million Won to State

First Ruling on Lawsuit Over Police Administrative Costs

Mr. A Sentenced to One Year in Prison, Two-Year Suspension

A court has ruled that a man in his 20s who posted a warning about a “Yatap Station stabbing rampage” on an online community and caused the mobilization of police forces must compensate the state by paying approximately 14 million won.

Police are patrolling Yatap Station on the Suin-Bundang Line in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 23rd, following a recent post predicting a stabbing rampage. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On August 24, Judge Jang Sung-shin of the Suwon District Court Civil Division 22, in a state compensation lawsuit filed by the government against a man in his 20s, referred to as Mr. A, ordered, “The defendant must pay the plaintiff 14,840,000 won,” partially ruling in favor of the plaintiff.

Previously, on September 18, 2024, Mr. A was accused of posting a message on an anonymous bulletin board of an online community he managed, titled “I will stab and kill 30 people at Yatap Station on Monday.” The post further specified, “I will wield a weapon against my friends and acquaintances. I will set fire,” clearly outlining plans of serious offenses. In response, police immediately implemented prolonged emergency patrols around Yatap Station, deploying special forces and armored vehicles to prepare for any contingency as soon as the post spread.

Later, after working with international law enforcement agencies, police arrested Mr. A 56 days after he posted the message, in November of that year. During the police investigation, Mr. A reportedly stated that he committed the act to promote the website he operated.

Police judged that Mr. A’s false threat was not only a serious crime but also resulted in a significant waste of police resources and harm to citizens. The police leadership adopted a firm stance, stating, “Strict criminal punishment as well as follow-up measures such as civil damage claims should be actively considered,” emphasizing a tough response to such public threats.

Police said that due to Mr. A’s false threat, a total of over 55 million won in administrative expenses—including police officers’ wages, overtime pay, and vehicle fuel costs for those deployed to the scene—was wasted. As a result, police filed the first-ever compensation lawsuits against Mr. A, as well as against the individual who posted the “Shinsegae Department Store bomb threat.”

The court recognized liability on Mr. A’s part only for 14,840,000 won—about 27% of the claimed amount—and dismissed the remainder of the claim. The specific grounds for only partially accepting the claim have not yet been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Mr. A was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, in January of this year on charges including intimidation and obstruction of official duties by deception. Mr. A is reportedly appealing the verdict.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.