2 in 5 murder threat suspects were teens: police

Police patrol Jamsil Station in Seoul after a murder threat was posted online on Aug. 4. (Yonhap)

Teenagers accounted for 41.7 percent of the 192 suspects taken into police custody for allegedly posting murder threats online last month, the National Police Agency said Monday.

Police found 431 murder threats posted online in the month since the deadly stabbing rampage near Sillim Station in Seoul on July 21. They tracked down 192 people in connection with the posts and have arrested 20 suspects.

In South Korea, minors under the age of 14 cannot be convicted of a crime. Juvenile offenders aged 10 to 13 -- commonly referred to as criminal minors -- are exempt from being punished but can be subject to protective detention.

The most recent threat of a mass stabbing was on Tuesday when an 11-year-old girl allegedly said in an online post that she would stab fans gathered at a concert held in Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul.

In response, Guro Police Station dispatched 39 police officials to conduct an extensive search of the venue. When caught, the suspect told police that the online threat was a “joke because she was angry the merchandise of the K-pop group was too expensive for her to buy.” The suspect appeared Thursday at the Seoul Family Court, a city courthouse that deals with underage crimes and family disputes.