2008 Nonhyeon-dong Gosiwon Murders

On the morning of 20 October 2008, a mass stabbing and arson attack occurred at a four-story gosiwon building in Nonhyeon-dong, in Seoul's Gangnam District. The building's third and fourth floors and rooftop housed low-cost single-room lodgings used mainly by students preparing for state exams and migrant workers; most of the roughly 100 residents were ethnic Korean Chinese women employed at the nearby Yeongdong traditional market.

According to police, at about 8:15 a.m., 30-year-old Jeong Sang-jin, who lived on the third floor, poured gasoline on his bed and set it alight. Dressed in black with a headlamp, balaclava, and goggles concealing his face, he emerged from the smoke-filled room armed with a sashimi knife, two fruit knives strapped to his legs, and a tear gas gun in a belt holster. He then slashed and stabbed residents who were fleeing the fire. Five people died from knife wounds Jeong inflicted, and one woman died after jumping from a fourth-floor window in an attempt to escape. Seven more people were injured, four of them seriously, either by Jeong or by the fire. Three of the dead and three of the injured were Chinese citizens. Firefighters, numbering around 100, took about 30 minutes to control the blaze.

At 9:20 a.m., Jeong was rescued by a firefighter from a storage room on the fourth floor, initially believed to be another victim. Police became suspicious of his behavior, interrogated him at the scene, and he confessed. He was arrested and taken to Gangnam Police Station, where he was charged on eleven counts including murder, attempted murder, arson resulting in death, and arson of a building.

Jeong Sang-jin was born on 27 February 1978 in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang Province, and moved to Seoul in 2002, where he lived at the gosiwon and worked part-time as a waiter, parking valet, and food delivery man. He had chronic financial difficulties, had been unemployed since April 2008, and his family had stopped sending him money around that time. He had attempted suicide in middle school but never received therapy, and had a criminal record for repeatedly failing to attend mandatory reserve forces training.

At trial, it was determined Jeong planned the attack after a 2007 conviction for evading military service resulted in a fine that carried a mandatory prison sentence if unpaid. He moved the attack forward when he fell behind on rent and faced eviction, fearing gosiwon staff would discover weapons he had already prepared. A psychiatric examination diagnosed him with chronic depression, and he was declared legally sane, having shown awareness of his actions and premeditation. Police stated Jeong killed indiscriminately without a specific target. Jeong was sentenced to death on 12 May 2009.