Latest news with #Siheung
Free Malaysia Today
21-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Man remains at large after stabbing 4 in South Korea
South Korea is generally a very safe country, with a murder rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021. (Yonhap/EPA Images pic) SEOUL : South Korean police said today a man remained at large after stabbing four people, leaving two dead, as authorities warned local residents to avoid going out until he was apprehended. Around 9.30 am today, the suspect stabbed a convenience store owner, a woman in her sixties, and fled the scene in Gyeonggi province, west of Seoul. After police responded to that stabbing, they went to the suspect's house where they found a body, which 'is yet to be identified', a Siheung police station official told AFP. About two hours later, the suspect stabbed another man in his seventies, before again fleeing the scene. Shortly after that, police discovered another body near a house close to the convenience store. The injured victims were receiving treatment at a hospital and were recovering, a police official said. The suspect remains at large, and 'the Siheung police station is mobilising all its forces to catch the suspect', the police said. Local residents received a warning message this afternoon from Siheung city hall saying: 'A stabbing incident occurred today in the Jeongwang-dong area.' It added that police were 'currently searching the scene'. 'Citizens are advised to avoid going out and prioritise their safety.' The city later sent out another warning message that the suspect was 'in his mid-50s with a balding head, wearing a dark-coloured jumper and pants, and a light blue top', adding that if he was seen, it should be reported immediately. 'We have released an official public wanted poster for a quick capture,' a Siheung police official told AFP. The case comes months after a teacher fatally stabbed an eight-year-old student at an elementary school in South Korea, and most recently, a student stabbing four at a school. However, South Korea is generally a very safe country, with a murder rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to official statistics, well below the global average of six per 100,000.
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea reignited by violent incidents, stereotypes
A chilling emergency alert was issued across Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea on Monday afternoon, warning residents: 'A stabbing has occurred. Police are searching the area. Please stay indoors and remain cautious.' Just hours later, a photo of the suspect, an ethnic Korean Chinese man named Cha Cheol-nam, dominated the front pages of major Korean news websites, as police issued a nationwide search for his capture. That afternoon, Cha allegedly stabbed a woman in her 60s – the owner of a convenience store he often visited – and fled. When officers traced him back to his one-room flat, they discovered a severely decomposed body believed to have been dead for several days. Cha had also stabbed a man in his 70s about two kilometres from the store, and police later discovered another body near his residence. Police arrested him just an hour after starting the open search. Between Sunday and Monday, three knife-related incidents involving Chinese nationals occurred across southern Gyeonggi Province. Two triggered a 'Code Zero' alert – the police's highest-level emergency response. The incidents quickly reignited a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment online and reinforced long-standing stereotypes about ethnic Korean Chinese, known as Joseonjok. Comment sections on YouTube videos were flooded with remarks like 'Deport all Chinese nationals' and 'Don't call Joseonjok our fellow Koreans.' The origins of the Joseonjok date back to the 1860s, when many Koreans migrated to Manchuria to escape famine, forming close-knit communities – particularly in what is now China 's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.
