Choi Chung-rak, 59, who attacked ten strangers with a knife at a large commercial facility in Incheon, has been found to score below the threshold for psychopathy in a diagnostic test.
According to police and legal sources on October 22, the Incheon Police Agency conducted a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) assessment on Choi, who is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon in a public place. He scored below 25 points, which is the cutoff for being classified as a psychopath in South Korea.
The PCL-R test is scored out of a total of 40 points, with scores above 25 indicating psychopathy. Police employed a professional profiler to interview Choi and analyze his personality traits based on 20 evaluation criteria, including impulsivity, lack of empathy, and irresponsibility.
Choi is accused of attempting to kill ten individuals at the C&C building in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, on October 13 at 1:48 p.m. The facility houses a large supermarket and a cinema.
Eight people were injured in the attack, including a 19-year-old woman who is currently in a state of unconsciousness. The remaining two victims were not seriously hurt. All victims were strangers to Choi.
During police questioning, Choi claimed, "I wanted to create news to express my social grievances and attract attention." He stated that he did not target specific individuals but chose those who appeared weaker than himself.
Police are continuing their investigation to clarify Choi's specific motives and whether the attack was premeditated, analyzing related evidence and conducting further inquiries.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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