"Shillim-dong Stabbing Incident: Chosun Is Not a Psychopath but an Attention Seeker"

Professor Baesanghoon Interview on YTN Radio
"More Personnel and Resources Needed for Recidivism Management"

Professor Bae Sang-hoon of the Department of Police Administration at Woosuk University viewed the psychopathic tendencies of the suspect Cho Seon (33) in the Shinrim-dong stabbing incident on the 27th as low. He analyzed that it seemed more like a crime of anger committed to gain attention.

Professor Bae appeared on YTN Radio's "News King Park Ji-hoon" that day and said, "The suspect claims to have psychopathic tendencies, but it is rare for someone who claims to be a psychopath to actually be one," adding, "It is easy to mistake an anger explosion crime for psychopathy, but I think this is a kind of anger crime closer to an attention seeker."

Professor Bae said, "We need to consider the motive that Cho Seon claims, but the important thing is to analyze the motive comprehensively by looking at his criminal behavior, statements after the crime, and background," and expressed concern, saying, "If we take at face value his social complaints and personal grievances explosively directed at the social masses as if advertising or asserting his legitimacy, imitation crimes could increase explosively, so we must be cautious."

During police investigation, Cho Seon stated that he "felt inferior because he was shorter than others" and "felt inferior to peers with better physical and economic conditions."

Suspect Jo Seon (33) in the Shinlim-dong stabbing incident. [Image provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

Professor Bae regretted that Cho Seon's recidivism should have been managed considering his past criminal record. He pointed out that the risk was underestimated because juvenile and adult criminal records were not combined in the recidivism management program.

He explained, "This was a crime that could have been prevented sufficiently through recidivism management programs or probation officers. When he was released, there should have been a program on how to manage his recidivism, but currently juvenile and adult crimes are not combined, so on paper, the criminality appears low." Cho Seon has three prior convictions including assault and 14 juvenile referrals.

Professor Bae added, "If this is a criminal with this level of risk, a high-risk score should have been given from the juvenile stage when the criminal record began," and "Especially considering that this criminal escalated suddenly from minor offenses like insurance fraud to violent crimes, something must have happened during his adolescence. But since juvenile crimes are not counted, probation officers are unaware."

He also compared Cho Seon to the suspect in the Busan roundhouse kick incident. Professor Bae said, "The suspect in the roundhouse kick crime also had accumulated criminal records and attacked a woman he did not know accordingly. Cho Seon followed a similar path," and pointed out, "The Busan roundhouse kick suspect committed many bad acts since juvenile days, repeated offenses as an adult, and frequently went in and out of prison, but the records are disconnected and not combined."

He continued, "These should be combined to manage the possibility of recidivism, but since one probation officer manages more than 200 people, it is difficult to pay attention even if they want to," and said, "If there were more personnel and resources, these criminals could be managed more extensively, but it is regrettable that the talk of too little, too late arises only after crimes occur."