A man in his 20s who posted online about committing a murder in the Moran Station area of Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, was arrested by the police.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that at around 4:45 p.m. on the 4th, they apprehended a suspect in his 20s who was accused of posting the message "Moran Station, today at 7 o'clock, I will kill two people" on an online community at around 2:30 p.m. the same day.
The police are investigating whether Mr. A actually planned the crime by checking his residence for weapons and are conducting digital forensics on his mobile phone.
However, according to the police investigation, no evidence has yet been found that Mr. A prepared for an actual crime.
Following the case of Cho Seon (33), who committed a 'random stabbing attack' in the bustling area of Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul last month, and the 'indiscriminate stabbing attack' near Seohyeon Station in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, two weeks later, posts predicting or implying murder have been continuously appearing.
Earlier on the same day, at 1:57 a.m., a man in his 20s who posted a message implying 'murder' on an online community near Uijeongbu Station, Gyeonggi Province, was arrested around 4 p.m. that day. Also, at 12:04 p.m., a man in his 20s who posted "Today at 4 p.m. I will kill everyone at Wangsimni Station" was arrested by the police at around 5:50 p.m.
The police are monitoring online communities and social media (SNS) to detect posts predicting murder and are applying charges of intimidation against those who post such threats. Those convicted of intimidation face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won.
The police have stated that the cyber investigation unit will relentlessly track down the posters of these repeated online murder threats to alleviate citizens' anxiety.
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