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South Korea’s random ‘Mudjima’ stabbings put mental health stigma, lack of support in focus
- The recent random attacks have fuelled anxiety among South Koreans and shattered a generally shared perception that crowded areas are safe
- Experts say more state support is needed for mental health, and a stronger welfare system and social safety net so that people feel less isolated
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Inequality and mental illness stigma are in the spotlight in South Korea, as a wave of random violent crimes that seemingly have no motive has authorities proposing locking people away for life without parole to deter offenders.
A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death – and three others in their 30s were wounded – near a Seoul subway station on July 21 in one of the latest Mudjima (Don’t Ask Why) attacks to hit the country. Police last week charged 33-year-old Cho Seon, who was previously unknown to the victims, with the stabbings.
“I tried my best to make a living, but nothing came of it,” the jobless suspect reportedly told police interrogators. “I am unhappy and I wanted to make others unhappy too.”
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Cho – who complained of frustrations stemming from the breakdown of family relationships, social maladjustment, heartbreak and economic struggles – had been sent to a juvenile correctional facility 14 times in the past and charged with physical violence three times.
Less than two weeks after the attack that Cho was charged with, a young man in Seongnam city stole his father’s car and rammed it into a group of pedestrians near a subway stop, leaving one woman brain-dead.
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