Used by daytime sexual assault offender in Sillim-dong
Countries like the US and Europe treat it as a weapon
Concerns are growing online about knuckles, which can be easily purchased as self-defense items, after it was revealed that the perpetrator of a daytime sexual assault on the hiking trail in Sillim-dong on the 17th used 'knuckles' during the crime. The police are considering measures to detect the carrying of knuckles during special security patrols and inspections.
Knuckles are metal tools worn like rings on the four fingers excluding the thumb, capable of delivering blows with the force of a hammer. For this reason, most European countries, including the UK and Germany, classify knuckles as weapons and prohibit their possession. In the United States, only 12 out of 50 states allow the possession and carrying of knuckles.
However, in Korea, there is a strong tendency to regard knuckles not as weapons but as self-defense items. In fact, when searching for 'knuckles' on online shopping sites, most are described as 'self-defense' or 'self-defense products.' Reviews of these products often say things like 'I bought it because my elementary school child wanted it,' 'I feel safe at night,' and 'I bought it because the world is dangerous,' indicating that most buyers purchase them as self-defense items. Moreover, the affordable price range of 2,000 to 10,000 won per piece makes them easily accessible to anyone.
Police: "Considering lethality, knuckles are indeed weapons"
However, the police are reviewing the possibility of classifying knuckles as weapons and applying charges under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes to those carrying knuckles, following this incident.
A police official told Yonhap News on the 18th, "We are assessing on a case-by-case basis whether knuckles fall under weapons according to the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes," adding, "Considering their lethality, knuckles should be regarded as prohibited weapons." The official noted that courts have often ruled that objects not originally intended as weapons, such as screwdrivers or utility knives, can be classified as weapons under the Act depending on how they are used, and thus knuckles should be viewed similarly under the law.
If knuckles are classified as weapons under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes, merely carrying them for self-defense can be punishable. Since August 2005, the Supreme Court has ruled that "if a weapon that could be used in violent crimes is carried without justifiable reason, the act of carrying itself constitutes a crime, even if no other specific criminal act occurs." Accordingly, in June 2007, the court ruled that "even if dangerous items are carried as a means of self-protection against violent criminals threatening oneself or family, it still constitutes a crime."
Violent incidents involving knuckles continue
Meanwhile, violent incidents involving knuckles have not ceased.
In 2021, at a middle school in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, a male student wearing knuckles assaulted a female student, leaving her with bruises on her face and body and causing a concussion that led to loss of consciousness. On the 8th, in Suwan-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, one of two middle school students involved in a fistfight was found wearing knuckles and was booked without detention after hitting the other with his fists. Additionally, in January in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, a teenage driver wearing knuckles assaulted a pedestrian, putting the victim at risk of blindness.
In the sexual assault case on the hiking trail in Sillim-dong on the 17th, the perpetrator assaulted the female victim while wearing knuckles on both hands, and the victim is currently in an unconscious state.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
