Lee calls for 'war-like resolve’ against violent crime after stabbing attack

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday called for extraordinary measures to combat violent crime, urging authorities to respond “with the resolve of declaring war” on such offenses.

A series of violent attacks has raised public concerns, particularly a stabbing rampage at a large commercial complex in Incheon’s Guwol-dong on Tuesday. The attack left eight people injured, including a woman in her 20s who remained unconscious after undergoing emergency surgery.

Lee pointed to a succession of violent crimes, including attacks involving family members or intimate partners and random stabbings, noting that “public anxiety is extremely high.”

“Such crimes, which threaten the lives of innocent people, are an extremely serious problem that endangers not only the victims themselves but also the safety of society as a whole,” he said during a weekly meeting with senior aides and secretaries.

“Moreover, given that the victims of these crimes are predominantly women and vulnerable people, more careful and targeted measures are needed,” he said.

He called on relevant government agencies to urgently develop a comprehensive response to violent crimes, including those committed by family members, intimate partners and colleagues, as well as indiscriminate attacks targeting strangers.

“Relevant ministries must approach this with a grave sense of crisis and swiftly draw up extraordinary measures to combat violent crimes, including relationship-based crimes involving family members, intimate partners and colleagues, as well as indiscriminate attacks on members of the public, with the resolve of declaring war on such crimes,” Lee said.

The president proposed establishing an interagency task force dedicated to combating such crimes and instructed officials to closely examine whether existing prevention and protection measures had left critical gaps.

Lee also ordered a review of whether protective devices provided to victims were functioning properly and whether authorities were adequately monitoring high-risk offenders, including those required to wear electronic ankle monitors.

Based on those findings, Lee called for preventive measures tailored to different risk levels, alongside stronger and more effective safeguards for victims.

Lee also stressed the need to strengthen authorities’ on-the-ground emergency response capabilities, calling for “a sweeping expansion of personnel, organizational resources and equipment.”

“There must not be even the slightest gap in protecting the lives and safety of our people,” he said. “Put in place a robust system for thorough crime prevention, swift on-site response and comprehensive protection and support for victims.”

Lee underlined that “we must mobilize every means available to our government.”

His call for tougher action follows a series of violent crimes that raised questions about the effectiveness of existing measures to protect victims and monitor potentially dangerous offenders.

On Sunday, a man allegedly killed his mother-in-law and abducted his estranged wife in Seoul’s Songpa district. The following day, a woman in her 40s was stabbed to death on Jeju Island by a man in his 60s in a suspected stalking-related killing.

The incidents prompted the National Police Agency to order a nationwide review of cases involving stalking, dating violence and domestic abuse, including whether adequate protection measures were in place for victims.

The Incheon knife attack raised separate questions about the authorities’ supervision of high-risk offenders. The 59-year-old suspect had previously served a four-year prison sentence for attempting to murder his former wife and was wearing an electronic ankle monitor at the time of the attack.

Lee visited the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday evening, hours after the attack, and urged authorities to concentrate all available resources on preventing violent crime and responding swiftly to such incidents, while developing effective measures to prevent similar attacks.