Lee Jae Myung calls for advance warnings and a government plan to prevent violent crime

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for a system to detect warning signs of violent crime and a government-wide prevention plan at a meeting in Seoul on October 23, according to Yonhap News Agency. His appeal followed attacks that injured people in Incheon and southern Seoul and raised concerns about public safety.

Lee urged officials to act before violent crimes occur. ‘This situation in which people are forced to worry about their safety in their everyday lives should not be allowed to continue,’ he said, according to Yonhap. He called for stronger prevention efforts and told officials to prepare response measures with the determination to wage war against violent crime.

What Lee asked government agencies to do

Lee described the plan as a starting point for a society ‘where anyone can tangibly enjoy safety and security,’ Yonhap reported. The meeting brought officials responsible for policing together with departments covering health, education and other public services, reflecting the breadth of the response he requested.

Attacks behind the renewed prevention call

The meeting followed a stabbing attack targeting people at a building in Incheon the previous week. Several people were injured, and one was left in cardiac arrest, Yonhap reported. Earlier in the week of the meeting, a man was suspected of setting fires at two buildings in southern Seoul; 19 people were injured, one of them seriously, according to the agency.

Yonhap also reported that a man had been apprehended the previous week after allegedly stabbing his mother-in-law to death and kidnapping his estranged wife. The case drew public criticism of the police response because of previous warning signs. Those allegations remain allegations; Yonhap’s account did not report a court finding in the case.

Lee had called for tougher prevention measures before this meeting. In an October 13 presidential briefing after an Incheon stabbing, his office said he directed officials to consider special measures against serious crime, strengthen prevention and rapid response, and review oversight of electronic monitoring systems. His October 23 remarks broadened that call into a request for an action plan across government agencies.