Comedian Kim Dae-beom calls on fans to support restaurant owner who subdued Incheon knife attacker

Comedian Kim Dae-beom, 47, a veteran of KBS's "Gag Concert," has drawn public attention for publicly cheering on the restaurant owner who helped subdue a knife-wielding attacker at a commercial complex in Incheon's Namdong-gu.

On Thursday, Kim posted on his social media account, sharing the name and location of the establishment. "This is the ssambap restaurant run by the hero of the Incheon knife attack," he wrote, urging followers to show their support by spending money there.

Kim also posted a photo of himself giving a thumbs-up, with a speech bubble reading: "Thank you, restaurant owner, for your courage. I will go and show my support."

The Korean neologism he used — roughly meaning "to financially reward someone in a good way" — refers to the practice of rewarding businesses that have shown a positive social impact through a surge of patronage.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon, when a 59-year-old suspect surnamed Choi tied knives to both hands and swung them indiscriminately at passersby. Ssambap restaurant owner Shin In-su, 66, udon restaurant owner Lee Hyeon-min, 30, and a customer, Na Hyeon-jun, 31, fought back using chairs and food trays to restrain him. The merchants, who have since returned to work, are reportedly suffering from trauma and receiving psychiatric care following the shock of the attack.

A 19-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest and remains unconscious after being taken to hospital, and eight others were injured in the attack.

Choi was arrested at the scene on charges of attempted murder and carrying a weapon in a public place. Before attending a pretrial detention hearing Friday, he told reporters his motive was linked to a dispute over medical treatment. "I staged a one-man protest for two and a half months over side effects from hospital treatment, but instead they pressured me with a civil lawsuit," he said. "There was pressure from a lawyer saying they would take every last penny from me."

Asked whether he had carried out the attack to draw attention, Choi said, "It wasn't that — it's because they had put me in a situation where I had no choice but to fall off a cliff."

Kim is a KBS-recruited comedian best known for popularizing the catchphrase "Is that true? For real?" from the sketch "Chumchuneun Daesusaseon," which he appeared in alongside sunbae comedians Ahn Sang-tae, Hwang Hyeon-hui and Park Seong-ho. The segment is said to have originated from Kim's own idea when he was a rookie. He won the male excellence award in comedy at the 2006 KBS Entertainment Awards and opened a performance venue in Hongdae under his own name in 2009, where he also staged plays. He is currently active as a YouTuber.