Woo Bun-Kon

Identification

Woo Bun-Kon, also known as Woo “Power” Bum-Kon (February 24, 1955–April 27, 1982), was a Korean police officer.

Background

Woo had served in the South Korean Marines until 1978. In December 1980 he was hired by the National Police in Pusan and settled in the village of Torongni after being transferred to the local police station in Kungyu in December 1981.

Woo had an argument with his live-in girlfriend, Chun Mal-soon, on the afternoon of April 26, 1982, after she woke him by swatting a fly on his chest. Enraged, he left the house and went to the police station, where he reported for duty at 4 p.m. and began drinking heavily.

Chun Mal-soon later said that her boyfriend “suffered from an inferiority complex and had been bothered by villagers' comments on their living together unmarried.” She described him as having been “a little eccentric.”

The offence

Woo became moderately drunk and raided the police armory of its weapons, building a personal arsenal. He stole a single high-powered rifle and some grenades and walked out of the armory with these in hand.

He left the police station and returned home at about 7:30 p.m., punched and kicked his girlfriend and smashed the furniture, then made his way to the armory. As the other officers were at a meeting, he managed unnoticed to gather an arsenal consisting of two M2 carbines, 180 rounds of ammunition, and seven hand grenades.

At about 9:30 p.m., Woo began shooting on passers-by in a marketplace in the village of Torongni, wounding Chun Mal-soon, who had gone to investigate after hearing shots in the village.

His next stop was at the post office in the nearby village of Kungryu, where he killed three phone operators and cut off the telephone lines to prevent others from calling emergency services.

From that point, he proceeded from village to village, abusing his position as a police officer to gain entry to houses and shoot or blow up the inhabitants. He continued this pattern for the next eight hours, into the early morning hours of April 27.

He killed 18 people in the village of Ungye and 24 more in the village of Pyongchon. At one point, he ordered a 16-year-old boy to get him a soft drink from a grocery store; after the boy obtained it, Woo shot the boy and his family. In one case he killed an entire family with a grenade.

Police were alerted one hour after the beginning of the killing spree, but Woo avoided capture and continued his rampage for a full eight hours.

In the early hours of April 27, after rampaging through five villages in Uiryeong county, Woo took his final two grenades and strapped them to his body. He hid in the farmhouse belonging to 68-year-old Suh In-Su, holding him and his family captive, when police finally caught up with him. As police forces were closing in, he set the grenades' fuses, killing both himself and three of his hostages. Mr. Suh survived gravely injured.

Timeline

• April 26, 1982 — Woo argued with his live-in girlfriend, Chun Mal-soon, after she swatted a fly on his chest; he left the house and went to the police station, where he reported for duty at 4 p.m. and began drinking heavily.
• April 26, 1982 (about 7:30 p.m.) — Woo returned home, punched and kicked his girlfriend and smashed the furniture, then went to the armory; while other officers were at a meeting, he gathered an arsenal.
• April 26, 1982 (about 9:30 p.m.) — Woo began shooting at passers-by in a marketplace in Torongni; he also wounded Chun Mal-soon.
• April 27, 1982 (early hours) — After rampaging through five villages in Uiryeong county, Woo took his final two grenades, strapped them to his body, and held 68-year-old Suh In-Su and his family captive in a farmhouse; when police arrived, Woo set the grenades' fuses, killing himself and three hostages.
• April 29, 1982 — Suh Chung-hwa laid down his office.

Victims and impact

Woo’s rampage resulted in 58 people killed, including himself, and 35 wounded in Sang-Namdo, South Korea. After the rampage concluded, 57 people (including himself) were dead and 35 were wounded in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.

Different reported death tolls appeared in contemporary coverage, including:

• 57 dead (including himself) and 35 wounded
• 58 slain
• 53 dead including 20 men and 33 women
• 62 dead reported by “most afternoon newspapers”
• 79 dead reported by the newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun

Investigation and law enforcement response

A five-member Cabinet committee headed by Prime Minister Yoo Chang Soon was formed to deal with the incident, and it sent an investigative team of 15 prosecutors and police officials to the scene in the southern country of Uiryong. A special parliamentary team was formed, consisting of 19 parliamentarians and led by Home Affairs Committee chairman Kim Chong-hoh, to investigate the shooting and its disastrous handling by the police.

The provincial chief of police was suspended, and four other officers were arrested. They were charged with neglect of duty, apparently for having failed to prevent Woo from taking two carbines and 180 rounds of ammunition from the police armory and seven grenades from an army post.

Arrest and seizure of weapons

Woo took two carbines, 180 rounds of ammunition, and seven hand grenades from the police armory and an army post.

Trial and sentencing

There was no trial or sentencing described; Woo died at the end of the rampage.

Quotes and statements

Chun Mal-soon later said:

“suffered from an inferiority complex and had been bothered by villagers' comments on their living together unmarried.”

Chun Mal-soon also said:

“a little eccentric.”

A 52-year-old shopkeeper, Shin We Do, told reporters:

“The patrolman came to my house leading a student. He asked for a soft drink. I gave him one. He had only one gulp and fired a shot at the student, killing the boy there. Then he fired shots at my wife and two of my children. They all died on the spot. Running out of the house, I was shot at and hit in the legs.”

A 45-year-old farmer, Chun Yong Sup, said:

“When I came out of the house, I saw the policeman, drunk and jumping around like a madman, firing. I was so frightened and could not get to my house. I fled into a nearby paddy until all became quiet near dawn, then returned home.”

Chun Mal-soon said:

“I went out and found Woo on the rampage, firing from two rifles. One of the bullets hit me”.

Aftermath

Home Minister Suh Chung-hwa offered to resign as a form of atonement for the rampage. The national police chief, An Eung-mo, also offered to resign as a form of atonement.

Suh Chung-hwa, being held responsible for the incident by president Chun Doo Hwan, lay down his office on April 29, and Roh Tae-woo was appointed Interior Minister.

The South Korean Cabinet decided to pay compensations to the victims and their families.

President Chun Doo Hwan’s involvement in holding Suh Chung-hwa responsible was described, and expressions of shock and outrage from South Korean leaders accompanied the incident.

Other details

Woo’s girlfriend lived with him. The killings were described as occurring in Uiryeong, and the rampage took place village to village in Uireyong province and Uiryeong county, with the incident described as taking place about 200 miles south of Seoul.