“Mom will wait without getting tired” ... Letter from the mother of a victim of Choi Chung-rak’s knife attack

[Financial News] A teenage girl who was seriously injured in a knife attack at a commercial building in Incheon has been unable to regain consciousness for more than two weeks. Her mother prepared songs and messages of encouragement for her daughter to listen to, saying, “Mom will wait without getting tired, even as more time passes.”
On the 27th, the victim’s mother, identified as Ms. A, posted on Instagram a message she had written before visiting her daughter in the hospital. She wrote, “My daughter is so kind. Today, too, Mom woke up after having many dreams. You weren’t in them, but that’s okay. Because today is the day I’m going to see my daughter.”
She also prepared a gift to take to her daughter. Ms. A said she had added songs and messages of encouragement to a new MP3 player she had received as a gift, and had adjusted the volume levels of the music and voice files with help from an academy instructor and an acquaintance. She urged her daughter to remember the people who had helped her and those who had sent gifts, and to thank them later.
Ms. A also expressed her hope that life would return to normal as it was before the incident. She wrote, “Everyone is going about their daily lives. Just like two weeks ago.” She then said, “Mom will wait without getting tired, even as more time passes. Don’t get tired, either. Keep your spirits up! Okay?” and said she would wait for her daughter to recover.
Earlier, at around 1:48 p.m. on the 13th, a knife attack took place at a commercial building in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon. Choi Chung-rak, 59, is suspected of wielding a knife at 10 people, including Ms. A’s daughter, in an attempt to kill them.
A total of eight people were injured in the knife attack. Among them, Ms. A’s daughter was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent emergency surgery. Her pulse later returned, but she had reportedly not regained consciousness by the 27th.
On the 23rd, the Incheon Namdong Police Station transferred Choi Chung-rak to prosecutors in custody on charges of attempted murder and possessing a weapon in a public place. On the morning of the 26th, Choi engaged in self-harm at the Incheon Detention Center and was taken to a hospital. He was treated in the emergency room of the hospital where Ms. A’s daughter was being treated, and reportedly returned to the detention center after completing treatment.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter