Korean attacked in Russia

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Korean attacked in Russia

A Korean film student in Moscow was in critical condition after being stabbed by a masked attacker in the Russian capital late Sunday afternoon, the Korean embassy in Moscow and the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said yesterday.

This was the second attack on a young Korean in less than a month. On Feb. 18, a 22-year-old Korean student died three days after getting attacked by three youths in Irkutsk.

In the latest incident, a 29-year-old man, identified as Shim, was stabbed in the neck near a shopping mall in Moscow.

Shim was on his way home with five friends after leaving a karaoke room, the embassy said.

The suspect, wearing a white mask, grabbed Shim from behind and took one stab on his neck before fleeing the scene, according to the embassy.

Shim has been in Russia for six years and had been studying at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography in Moscow.

The case appears to be the latest in a series of hate crimes by Russians against non-Slavic people or those with non-Slavic appearances.

Last week, a Kyrgyzstanian was killed in the same area where Shim was stabbed.

A senior ministry official, however, said it's too early to say for sure that the attack was ethnically-motivated, but added that the local police in Moscow were accompanied at the scene by special authorities tasked with handling racial crimes.

"This attack was very similar with the killing of the Kyrgyzstanian," he said. "Russian authorities are very concerned about these events."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun said the government would ask the Russian government and regional authorities to take steps to control ethnic crimes.

After the February death of the 22-year-old student, the Korean government also urged its Russian counterpart to take necessary steps to prevent recurrences.

Kim added that the government will soon announce preventive measures, including the possible raising of the travel alert level in certain regions in Russia.

**The full version of the article can be read in tomorrow’s edition of the JoongAng Daily.

by Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
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