Why a male station worker went on a knife rampage at Wondang Station: “I got angry when someone pointed out the smell of cigarettes” ... He also carried two weapons

[Financial News] A male station employee in his 30s at Wondang Station on Seoul Subway Line 3 in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, was arrested after allegedly wielding a weapon against a female colleague in the same department in the station office. The employee reportedly told police during questioning, in effect, that he had taken an excessive amount of medication after becoming angry when someone pointed out the smell of cigarettes.

According to Goyang Police Station on the 29th, A, a Korail employee suspected of attempted murder, claimed during police questioning that the victim had pointed out, “It smells of cigarettes,” on the day of the attack, and that he became angry and took an excessive amount of the medication for bipolar disorder that he normally takes.
He reportedly went on to say, “I don’t remember what happened on the day of the attack,” and that he “usually carried two weapons for self-defense.”
Police are currently questioning employees who worked with A to determine the motive and circumstances of the attack.
They are also investigating whether A planned the attack in advance, given that the weapon used was not normally kept in the station office.

A is suspected of stabbing B, a female station employee in her 30s who was both his colleague and senior, several times with a weapon in the Wondang Station office in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, at around 12:31 p.m. on the 28th.
Police responding to a report arrested A at the scene.
B, who suffered serious injuries including to her neck and was taken to hospital unconscious, regained consciousness after emergency surgery and a second operation on the 29th.
After the incident, a person identifying himself as B’s husband wrote in an online community, “My wife is fighting for her life,” and lamented, “The bleeding was miraculously stopped, just barely, and she needs to regain her strength for surgery.”
B’s husband claimed that his wife had faced difficulties, including a lack of cooperation at work, while working with A. He said that after noticing A’s unusual behavior, he had repeatedly requested personnel measures such as a reassignment, but was told only to “just put up with it,” and that his requests were not acted on.
Investigators found that A had routinely carried the weapon used in the attack. B reportedly expressed her fear in messages to her husband, including, “(A) is scary” and “Apparently, he gets a little strange when he doesn’t take his medication.”
He said, “I requested a change to her shift schedule or a transfer to another station, but no personnel action was taken,” adding, “There is also evidence, including messages, that shows what was happening at the time.”
He also said, “A moved between several stations because of problems such as difficulty adapting to the work, and people at each station tended to avoid him.”
Police are investigating the exact motive and whether the attack was planned in advance, and plan to hand the case over to the Railway Special Judicial Police.
[email protected] An Gaeul Reporter