Stabbing Incident with a Knife in Gwangju Entertainment District on 'Bulgeum' Night... Here's the Reason

Arrest Warrant to Be Requested for 50s Business Owner
"Terror for Citizens, Cold Water for Commercial District"

The dispute over interests among entertainment venue host recruiters (brothel owners) escalated into a stabbing rampage murder in a bustling nightlife district.

Yonhap News reported on the 8th, compiling information from the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station and others. Earlier, on the afternoon of the 7th, Kim Mo (58), who was urgently arrested by the police on charges of stabbing two people in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu (murder and attempted murder), was known to have operated a "brothel" supplying hostesses to entertainment venues in the major nightlife district of Cheomdan District, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju.

Entertainment District [Photo by Yonhap News]

It is reported that Kim had been running the brothel here since the early 2000s, and recently, as the commercial district revived, he had been in conflict with newly incoming brothel owners.

Cheomdan District, one of Gwangju's new towns developed around 2000, was the first to experience decline but has been regarded as a rapidly revitalized commercial area in recent years. Consequently, the demand for hostesses at entertainment venues sharply increased, which reportedly escalated into a turf war between the old and new generations within the brothel industry.

Moreover, conflicts intensified as newly incoming brothel owners conducted health certificate inspections and rallies to eradicate illicit businesses. It is known that individuals such as Mr. A made false reports claiming "some entertainment venues were engaging in prostitution and there were people arranging it" to break the monopoly of established forces like Kim.

In a situation where the rift had deepened considerably, Kim is tentatively investigated to have committed the crime after being mocked by brothel owners in their 40s, including Mr. A, with remarks like "At your age, why are you still in the hostess business?"

Kim’s stabbing rampage echoed with screams from pedestrians on a Friday evening in the crowded entertainment district of Cheomdan. Police, preparing to manage a rally at the time, disarmed Kim, who was holding a victim’s hand, and arrested him on the spot, but they could not prevent one person from dying and another from being seriously injured. Kim claimed, "I did not intend to kill," but admitted most of the charges during the police investigation.

The police plan to apply for an arrest warrant for Kim. They are also analyzing the circumstances in which two casualties occurred due to a knife fight among stakeholders ahead of a scheduled rally in the heart of the nightlife district, while reviewing whether there are any points for improvement in crime prevention policies.

A merchant in Cheomdan District told Yonhap News, "Although it’s a fight among themselves, it is extremely threatening and frightening to ordinary citizens," adding, "It is an act that pours cold water on a commercial district that has barely revived, and I am afraid the same thing could happen again at any time."