'I'll stab 30 people at Seohyeon Station': Suspect who posted murder threats fined W7m

A person who posted online threats to stab 30 people at Seohyeon Station in the Greater Seoul area and attack the president with a knife at Cheong Wa Dae has been fined 7 million won ($5,220).

According to legal sources, Judge Hwang Ji-hyeon of the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 5 handed down the fine against the suspect, identified only as A, in mid-September on charges of public intimidation and attempted intimidation.

A is accused of posting a total of seven threatening messages on an online community in June last year. Four of the posts threatened to stab 30 people at Seohyeon Station and to harm fans of specific celebrities — charges that formed the basis of the public intimidation count. Three additional posts threatened to go to Cheong Wa Dae and stab the president with a knife on the same date, giving rise to the attempted intimidation charge.

After another user spotted the posts and reported them to police, A turned themselves in.

A faced separate charges of public intimidation and attempted intimidation. The public intimidation law, which imposes heavier penalties for threats directed at unspecified members of the public, took effect in March last year to close a gap in existing criminal statutes.

The court found A guilty on both counts.

"Public intimidation can cause anxiety and fear among an unspecified number of members of society, undermining public safety and creating social disorder — and therefore warrants strict punishment," the court said.

However, the court noted that A had admitted to the offenses, and said it took into account that A had voluntarily surrendered to investigators and had no prior criminal record in determining the sentence.

The ruling was finalized without appeal. Neither side challenged the first-instance verdict.

Meanwhile, when a knife attack occurred at Seohyeon Station in 2023, a wave of copycat murder threats spread online. Most of those who posted such threats were sentenced to fines or suspended prison terms.