When Asked for ID to Buy Alcohol... Minor Says, "What If I Show a Weapon?"

18-Year-Old High School Dropout Threatens Convenience Store Owner

Amid a series of recent violent incidents involving weapons, a minor who dropped out of high school threatened a convenience store owner with a weapon after being asked for identification.

According to a JTBC report on the 22nd, the police have apprehended and are investigating an 18-year-old minor, identified as A, on charges of threatening a convenience store owner with a weapon (special intimidation). A is accused of threatening the store owner with a weapon at a convenience store located in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the 26th of last month in order to purchase alcohol.

At the time, A took a bottle of soju and a can of beer from the convenience store refrigerator and brought them to the checkout counter. Noticing A's youthful appearance, the store owner asked to see his ID. In response, A tried to leave the store holding only the can of beer.

When the store owner demanded, "What are you doing now?" and asked him to come back, A pulled out a weapon at the counter and threatened, "What are you going to do if I show you the knife?"

Mr. A took a soju bottle and a beer can from the convenience store refrigerator and brought them to the checkout counter.
[Photo by JTBC]

Startled, Mr. B persuaded A by saying, "If you act strangely, I will report you, but if you leave quietly, I won't. So please leave quietly," and A left the convenience store as instructed.

Police investigations revealed that A is currently detained at a juvenile classification center for other offenses besides this crime. The juvenile classification center is a detention facility where juvenile offenders are placed before trial.

The police plan to formally charge A with special intimidation and investigate any additional crimes.

227 Weapon-Related Crimes Detected During Two Weeks of Police Special Security Operations

Amid growing public anxiety due to online posts threatening violent attacks and murder, police SWAT team members are patrolling the underground shopping center at Gangnam Station in Seoul on the afternoon of the 6th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following a weapon-related rampage at Seohyeon Station in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, on the 3rd, the police conducted special security operations from the 4th to the 18th, during which they detected 227 weapon-related crimes.

A police official stated at a written press briefing on the 21st that during this period, "We patrolled 47,260 densely populated locations with high crime risk, achieving these results," adding, "20 cases involved attempted murder or preparatory charges, and 113 cases involved charges such as special injury, intimidation, and assault."