One Year Since Ahn In-deuk's Stabbing Incident... Legal and Institutional Reforms Stalled

Treatment and Management Issues Publicized
But Overshadowed by COVID-19 and Economic Concerns
Related Legislation Fails to Pass Parliament

Severe Mental Illness Cases Increase 3% Annually
Concerns Over Time Bomb Due to Lack of Social Safety Net

In April last year, An In-deuk, the arson and murder suspect of an apartment in Jinju, is answering questions from the press as he is being transferred from the Jinju Police Station in Gyeongnam to the prosecution.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] It has been one year since the 'Jinju Apartment Stabbing Rampage Murder Case,' in which arsonist and murderer An In-deuk (43) killed or injured 22 people. Since then, the issue of treatment and management of the 'schizophrenia' he suffered from has been brought to public attention, but concrete legal and institutional improvements remain at a standstill.

On April 17 last year, An In-deuk set fire to his apartment in Jinju, Gyeongnam, and then wielded a weapon against residents evacuating, killing 5 and injuring 17. After being arrested at the scene, he stated in police interrogation that he committed murder and arson in a fit of rage. He added, "I did it because I didn't want to live." He suffered from 'paranoid schizophrenia (schizophrenia)' and had been receiving psychiatric treatment for over five years. An In-deuk's older brother, Mr. A, tried to have his younger brother admitted to a psychiatric hospital before the incident but was refused. Under current law, involuntary hospitalization requires a guardian, but in An In-deuk's case, there was no guardian, making involuntary hospitalization impossible.

As these institutional gaps were pointed out, voices calling for the revision of related laws grew louder after the An In-deuk case. In the National Assembly, the so-called 'An In-deuk Prevention Act (Amendment to the Act on Probation, etc.)' was proposed. The main content is that when the probation period ends for a person under treatment custody or treatment order and subject to probation, the probation office chief must notify the chief of the local police station and the director of the mental health welfare center about the end of probation.

However, this bill has not progressed in discussions even as the 20th National Assembly session nears its end. Bills not passed by the plenary session of the National Assembly by the 29th of next month will be discarded with the end of the 20th National Assembly session. In the April 15 general election, it was not even mentioned due to being overshadowed by COVID-19 and economic issues. However, there are concerns that if treatment and management of schizophrenia patients are neglected, similar 'random murder incidents' could recur. Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of Dongguk University's Department of Police Administration said, "Under current law, the police's authority to manage and supervise mentally ill patients is extremely limited," adding, "For those classified as high-risk groups, cooperation with health authorities and local governments is necessary."

According to last year's survey on the medical system for severe and mentally disabled persons by the National Human Rights Commission, the number of severe mental illness patients in Korea increased from about 320,000 in 2008 to about 420,000 in 2017, an average annual increase of 3.0%. During the same period, the number of health insurance and medical aid subscribers increased by only 0.5% annually. Looking at the first mental healthcare usage status of first-episode patients by disease, among first-episode patients with schizophrenia, schizotypal, and delusional disorders, 6,037 (22.4%) experienced hospitalization without outpatient visits, and among first-episode patients with bipolar affective disorder requiring inpatient treatment, 3,447 (10.9%) were hospitalized. This means that about 10,000 severe mental illness patients annually start their first treatment only when symptoms have worsened enough to require inpatient care.

Professor Baek Jong-woo of Kyung Hee University's Department of Psychiatry said, "During the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, mentally ill patients are more likely to be excluded and marginalized in the community," adding, "Active measures such as securing social safety nets to help patients outside of their families are required."