Murder suspect causes stir

Yoo Yeong-cheol, charged with the murders of 20 people, jumped over the bar and ran up to the judge’s seat yesterday to protest his forced appearance in court. He was restrained by 20 guards and pulled out of the courtroom.
Mr. Yoo was at the Seoul District Court when he said, “I don’t want to attend the trial anymore.” He said he did not trust the prosecutors or the police. “The same goes for the judges,” he added. One judge said to Mr. Yoo, “It is not you that decides whether you attend the trial or not.”
The three judges were about to adjourn when Mr. Yoo jumped over the railing separating the defendant’s seat from the judges.
He was handcuffed by court workers when he approached the bench. The judges got out of their chairs when they saw Mr. Yoo approach, and did not take their seats again until he was dragged from the courtroom.
During the hearing, Mr. Yoo said, “The police said they would protect my son until he went to college, so I lied to them about also killing a woman in Imun-dong, which I didn’t do.”

by Chun In-sung, Lee Min-a