Lee calls for proactive prevention of violent crimes to build 'supersafe' society

The Korea Times - Oct 23, 2026

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called for proactive efforts to prevent violent crimes to ensure a "supersafe" society following a series of violent crimes targeting random victims or family members. The president made the remarks at a pan-government meeting aimed at building a supersafe country amid heightened public safety fears following a stabbing spree targeting random people at a building in Incheon, just west of Seoul, last week and a suspected arson earlier this week, in which a man set fires at two buildings in southern Seoul. Several people were injured in the stabbing attack, with one of them having been left in cardiac arrest, while 19 people were injured, one of them seriously, in the suspected arson. Also last week, a man was apprehended after allegedly stabbing his mother-in-law to death and kidnapping his estranged wife, prompting public outcry over the police's failure to prevent the crime despite previous warning signs. "This situation in which people are forced to worry about their safety in their everyday lives should not be allowed to continue," the president said,

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