Student brandishes knife at middle school in Gyeonggi

Armed police patrol Gangnam Station on Aug. 7 after a knife attack at Bundang, Gyeonggi, earlier this month led to threats in major locations and landmarks. [YONHAP]

A student threatened to cut himself with a knife in front of teachers at a middle school in Seongnam, Gyeonggi on Friday.

Bundang police say they received a call reporting that a student had brought a knife into the faculty lounge at 2:27 p.m.

The student reportedly only made threats and did not actually harm himself or use the knife against teachers.

The police said the student had fought with another student and was infuriated because his teacher took only him to the office for discipline, not the other party.

Since no one was injured, the student was not taken into custody and was instead handed over to the parents.

Korea has suffered a rash of knifings since a random attack by 33-year-old Cho Sun last month in Sillim-dong, Seoul, which left one person dead and three others injured.

On Aug. 3, a 22-year-old named Choi Won-jong randomly attacked people at AK Plaza, a mall connected to Seohyeon Station in Bundang, Gyeonggi, leaving 13 people injured.

A woman in her 60s, who was hit by Choi's car before the attack, succumbed to her injuries a few days later, while another woman hit by the car remains in critical condition.

The day after Choi Won-jong's attack, a man in his 20s entered Daejeon Songchon High School and stabbed his former teacher.

On Thursday, a woman in her 30s was attacked with brass knuckles and raped by a man in his 30s at a park in Sillim-dong, just before noon.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]