Police panel to deliberate whether to reveal identity of fatal rampage suspect

Police will decide later this week whether to disclose the identity of the suspect in a recent fatal stabbing rampage that killed one person and wounded three others in Seoul, officials said Monday.

The 33-year-old man, identified by his surname Cho, was formally arrested Sunday on charges of murder and attempted murder. He was apprehended Friday after fatally stabbing a complete stranger in his 20s near Seoul’s Sillim Station and then attacking three other men in a nearby alleyway.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said its identity disclosure review committee will convene Wednesday to deliberate on whether to make public the suspect’s name, age, face and other personal information.

The police are also investigating a person who allegedly first shared the CCTV footage of the crime scene online, and have requested the authorities to delete 17 pieces of related video currently circulating online.

Moreover, the police are looking into an online post that appears to admire the crime, referring to the suspect as “Joseon’s finest swordsman.”

On Sunday, Cho told reporters that he committed the crime due to unspecified “extreme hardship.”

During the police investigation, the suspect reportedly confessed to being “filled with anger” while committing the crime and said he “wanted to make other people miserable” because he was also living a miserable life.