Accused grocery store stabber apologizes to victims before detention hearing
Published: 24 Apr. 2025, 16:49
![A 33-year-old man who is accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a grocery store in the Mia-dong neighborhood of Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, appears at a pretrial hearing at the Seoul Northern District Court in northern Seoul on April 24. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/24/7b954503-aa1c-456a-a810-24b6c9cda831.jpg)
A 33-year-old man who is accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a grocery store in the Mia-dong neighborhood of Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, appears at a pretrial hearing at the Seoul Northern District Court in northern Seoul on April 24. [NEWS1]
A 33-year-old man who is accused of fatally stabbing a woman in her 60s at a grocery store in the Mia-dong neighborhood of Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, appeared at a pretrial hearing on Thursday, and said he was “sorry to the victims.”
The Seoul Northern District Court held the hearing at 10:30 a.m. to review a detention warrant requested the previous day by the Gangbuk Police Precinct on charges of murder.
On his way into the courthouse, the suspect told reporters, “I’m sorry.” When asked to whom he was apologizing, he replied, “to the victims.”
While being escorted to a detention van after the roughly 40-minute hearing, the suspect added, “I’ll never do something like this again.”
He denied that the attack had been premeditated. The court is expected to decide on the detention warrant later in the day.
The suspect is accused of attacking two women with a knife at a grocery store at around 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday. A woman in her 60s later died, while another woman in her 40s — a store employee — was injured. Police said the suspect had no prior acquaintance with either victim.
According to investigators, the suspect drank soju inside the store before using a knife on the store’s display to carry out the attack.
After the stabbing, he reportedly smoked a cigarette and voluntarily called the police. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a hospital gown, having been admitted to an orthopedic clinic near Mia Station for a finger injury.
Police said they plan to determine the suspect’s motive through further investigation and are also conducting drug and toxicology tests.
“We are currently looking into whether the suspect has a history of mental illness and what prompted the attack,” a police official said.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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