Korean woman attacks three train passengers for being called “Ahjumma,” netizens react to her arrest

On March 3 (KST), a Korean woman was arrested at the scene on the Suin Bundang Line of the Seoul Subway, where she attacked three passengers with a knife.

According to police and other witnesses, the woman – in a red tracksuit – began brandishing the gun in the car around 5:35 p.m. Police were reportedly dispatched to the nearest police station around 5:43 p.m.

When the police were waiting for the train at the next station, the passengers in the car joined forces to arrest the woman. Three passengers tried to get close to her to control her – and she ended up injuring all three. A passenger and a female passenger were injured in the face, while another passenger was stabbed in the thigh. Although no lives were lost, the passenger’s thigh injury was reported as critical.

Since the woman’s arrest, police have uncovered the woman “had no intention of killing” According to police investigations, the woman initiated the attack when another passenger called her “ahjumma” (아줌마, a Korean term most commonly used for a married or middle-aged woman) and asked her to “Turn the volume down on his cell phone.”

Another passenger asked the woman to turn down the volume on her cell phone. The passenger called the woman “Ahjumma,‘ which upset the woman. The woman admitted the term offended her because she didn’t think she was old enough to be classified as “Ahjumma”. She also stated that she had no intention of killing.

– Police report

Police concluded that based on the woman’s investigation, the woman would be charged with assault, not attempted murder. Police also pointed out that the woman had psychiatric drugs in her bag, as well as records showing she had been treated for mental illness, including depression, and concluded it was an assault “involuntarily.”

However, after media coverage, Koreans expressed their disbelief through online communities. Most criticized the police for doing so “too indulgent” with “a criminal who had prepared a gun” and to the conclusion that the attack was not “Planned Murder”.

• “I can’t believe I live in a world where victims have to risk their lives because criminals have mental illnesses.”
• “We can’t even use them ahjumma, ahjussi Conditions? What shall we do, call them “sir” and “madam” now?
• “I’m sorry, but a 37-year-old woman is one ahjumma regardless of marital status. It has little to do with whether you are married or not. Seems the woman has anger management issues on top of an inferiority complex…AND it looks like the police are leaving her alone for having such mental illnesses.
• “But at her age, she’s not ahjumma In force? The other passenger called him that. What a stupid excuse…”

• “How is that even unintentional when the woman literally had a gun on her? How many people just carry knives in their pockets? »
• “But… the woman had a knife with her. Isn’t that what you want? I mean, unless she’s doing a job that requires her to carry a gun everywhere…”
• “You know. I have depression too. I’ve been on medication for a number of years. And yes, sometimes I lose my temper too. But I don’t carry a gun. I don’t go around brandishing a knife at people. I don’t think I’m that Kind of energy would have… I really hope the woman doesn’t use insanity as an excuse.

Yongin Seobu Police Station did not respond to the growing online backlash on the specific charges.