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.
The call for tougher action followed a series of violent attacks, including a stabbing rampage at a large commercial complex in Incheon on Tuesday. The attack left eight people injured, including a woman in her 20s who remained unconscious after undergoing emergency surgery.
Addressing violence ranging from stalking and other relationship-related crimes to indiscriminate stabbing attacks, Lee said "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.
Lee called on relevant government agencies to urgently develop a comprehensive response to a range of violent crimes.
"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 the findings, Lee called for preventive measures tailored to different risk levels along with "effective safeguards for victims."
Lee 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 responses and watertight victim protection and support systems."
Lee underlined that "we must mobilize every means available to our government."
As a follow-up to Lee's directive, Cheong Wa Dae announced plans to hold an interagency meeting Thursday evening, chaired by Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy Ha Joon-kyung, to discuss measures to combat crimes driven by seemingly random motives, relational crimes and violent crimes targeting vulnerable groups.
Lee will be briefed on the outcome of the meeting, including both short- and long-term measures to minimize the occurrence of such crimes, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The government's push for tougher action follows a series of violent crimes that have 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 at her home in Seoul and abducted his estranged wife while under police investigation for alleged domestic violence and other offenses.
The incident occurred after a restraining order barring him from approaching his wife had expired and while police were awaiting a court decision on their request to renew the protective measures.
The following day, a woman in her 40s was stabbed to death by her former partner, a man in his 60s, in Jeju City in a suspected stalking-related killing.
At the time of the attack, the woman was wearing a police-issued emergency smartwatch after repeatedly reporting the man to police for stalking, dating violence and sexual assault since 2025.
The Incheon knife attack also raised questions about the monitoring of high-risk offenders.
The 59-year-old suspect had a lengthy criminal record, including 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.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
