Incheon stabbing victim unconscious for a week... 15,000 people petition for severe punishment

(Incheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sang-yeon = A teenage victim in critical condition due to the Incheon stabbing incident has not regained consciousness for a week.

According to the police on the 20th, Ms. A (19), who was stabbed by Choi Chung-rak (59) at a large commercial facility in Namdong-gu, Incheon at 1:48 pm on the 13th, remains unconscious as of today.

Ms. A is the second victim in time among the 10 victims of this incident. Choi Chung-rak suddenly lunged at Ms. A, who was visiting the restaurant at the time, and her acquaintance, a woman in her 20s.

Ms. A was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent emergency surgery to regain her pulse, but is still being treated in the intensive care unit without regaining consciousness.

As of the night before, 15,000 people had signed a petition calling for severe punishment for the perpetrator who wielded an electronic anklet and brandished a weapon with both hands tied to his hands.

Ms. A's friend of eight years, who started signing the petition, emphasized, "I hope that the crime that destroyed one person's precious life will be held accountable."

He said, "When I received a call from Ms. A's mother asking me to send a voice of support so that her daughter could regain consciousness, I felt deep anger and sadness when I first heard about the damage."

He added, "My friend was a sincere and strong friend who went to an academy and worked part-time to pursue his dream," and added, "Please join us in signing so that this incident does not end up as just an individual's tragedy."

If the court recognizes that there were three or more victims in this attempted murder crime, the standard of 'multiple victims and concurrent offenders' will be applied, and unlike other attempted murder crimes, the sentence is expected to increase significantly.

If an indiscriminate crime is committed against the majority or an extreme disregard for human life is recognized, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed.