Two killed, one injured in fatal stabbing incident

Police have apprehended a 55-year-old man who allegedly stabbed two people to death and seriously injured another on Tuesday in Jinju, South Gyeongsang.

According to authorities, the suspect, surnamed Jeon, first approached a 55-year-old man smoking in front of a local employment agency and stabbed him in the shoulder. The victim immediately fled.

Jeon then entered the employment office - where he had applied for jobs over the past four months - and inflicted fatal injuries upon a 57-year-old Korean-Chinese man and a 63-year-old man before escaping the scene.

The two were taken to a nearby hospital, though it was not known as of press time whether they died on the scene.

There were about 10 more people in and around the employment agency to get a job at the time of the incident but they could not stop Jeon because the incident took place very quickly, authorities said.

Officers from the Jinju Police Precinct caught the suspect about 300 meters (328 yards) from the crime scene with his clothes covered in blood and still holding the knife.

Authorities are currently working on determining a possible motive and if the crime may have been premeditated.

Police said Jeon was incoherent during questioning and claimed that the victims were members of a China-based mob responsible for “taking all Korean women.”

He is believed to have stolen the knife from a local traditional market on Monday.

Jeon was previously investigated twice, once on breaking and entering allegations, as well as damaging property, according to police. He reportedly moved from Suwon, Gyeonggi, to Jinju after divorcing from his wife two years ago.

Police added that he had visited the employment agency over the past four months for daily work assignments.

“It looks like the suspect may have been acquainted with the victims because he’d been coming to the agency for four months,” a local police officer said.

The officer added that Jeon would be put under psychiatric evaluation while authorities investigate probable cause for the incident, such as conflicts between the suspect and the victims.

BY KIM BONG-MOON [kim.bongmoon@joongang.co.kr]