Ministry of Justice Lowers Incheon Knife Rampage Suspect Choi Chungrak's Rating from "High-Risk" to "Intensive"

"Cooperative attitude toward guidance and supervision"

The Ministry of Justice designated Choi Chungrak, the suspect in the Incheon knife rampage, for electronic monitoring and lowered his supervision rating by one level.

Choi Chungrak, 59, who was arrested on suspicion of wielding a weapon at a large commercial facility in Incheon and attempting to kill 10 people, is being transferred from Incheon Namdong Police Station to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office on the morning of the 23rd. Yonhap News.

Yonhap News Agency reported on October 24, citing materials provided by the Ministry of Justice to Assemblyman Kim Dong-a of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, that Choi was classified as “high-risk,” the second-highest electronic monitoring category, after completing his prison sentence for attempted murder and being released in 2019. His rating was later lowered by one level to “intensive.”

Electronic monitoring ratings apply to people wearing location-tracking devices, or electronic ankle monitors, and are based on the risk of reoffending. The categories are, in descending order, “one-on-one,” “high-risk,” “intensive” and “general.” The frequency of meetings with probation officers and other requirements vary according to the rating.

It is not known when Choi's rating was lowered. The Ministry of Justice said, however, that it lowered his rating because “Choi showed a cooperative attitude toward guidance and supervision, actively participating in addiction counseling and psychological treatment, among other things.” He was reportedly fined for violating restrictions on going out three times in 2021 and once each year from 2022 through 2024. At the time, the probation officer responsible for Choi was supervising a total of 18 people.

Last month, Choi, dissatisfied with his hospital treatment, took out a weapon on the street and was booked on suspicion of carrying a weapon in a public place. The Ministry of Justice said the probation officer met with him on an official visit as soon as the officer was notified that he had been booked, and took necessary measures after investigating the facts. However, the ministry reportedly only instructed Choi on the day it received the notification not to carry weapons and sought to impose additional conditions; it did not raise his supervision rating. The ministry explained that it had taken into account, among other things, that Choi had not wielded a weapon at anyone.

However, Choi reportedly had a criminal record of more than 10 offenses. In 2004, he was punished for wielding a weapon against an employee at a real estate agency after becoming dissatisfied with the employee. In 2007, he argued with his then-cohabiting former wife and stabbed her with a weapon. In 2015, after his former wife refused to reconcile, he stabbed her several times and was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted murder.

On the morning of October 13, about two hours before the knife rampage at a large commercial facility in Incheon, Choi visited the western branch of the Incheon Probation Office and met with a probation officer. He passed through a walk-through metal detector at the office while carrying a backpack containing a knife and a blunt weapon, but no alarm sounded. A police investigation found that staff at the probation office had turned off the metal detector early this year because it was making excessive noise.

Choi is suspected of trying to kill 10 visitors by stabbing them with a weapon taped to both his hands at a large commercial facility in Namdong-gu, Incheon, which houses a large supermarket and a movie theater, on the afternoon of October 13.

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