Police to Seek Arrest Warrant on Attempted Murder Charges in 'Severance Doctor Attack'

Knife attack at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul

Prepared in advance, with a kitchen knife in a shopping bag

Police plan to seek an arrest warrant this afternoon

Police will seek an arrest warrant on attempted murder charges for a woman in her 50s who wielded a weapon at a professor of psychiatry at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul.

The Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul said it plans to seek an arrest warrant for the woman, identified only as A, on attempted murder charges at the Seoul Western District Prosecution Office on the afternoon of Nov. 5.

Sinchon Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

A is accused of injuring a professor by wielding a weapon she had brought with her at around 4:35 p.m. on Nov. 4 in a psychiatry consultation room on the fifth floor of the main building at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

During police questioning, A said her motive was that she had been angry because "I was trying to go to another hospital, but a doctor at Severance Hospital conspired with the other hospital and stopped me from going there to receive the treatment." Police are looking into the specific motive and the credibility of her statement, given that it has been inconsistent and rambling.

Police are investigating whether A's account is consistent with the facts, including whether she actually intended to receive treatment at another hospital. They plan to determine through formal investigative procedures, such as official requests for documents or warrants, whether she had previously received treatment from the professor who was injured and whether she had an outpatient appointment.

The weapon A used was a kitchen knife from her home, and police confirmed that she had put it in a shopping bag and prepared it in advance.

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