Woo Bun-Kon

Case overview

Woo Bun-Kon carried out a spree killing in Sang-Namdo, South Korea, and killed 58 people (including himself) while wounding 35. The incident was also described as the Uiryeong massacre. The rampage took place across five villages in Uiryeong province and continued from the evening of April 26, 1982 into the early morning hours of April 27, 1982.

Timeline

• February 24, 1955 — Woo Bun-Kon was born.
• December 1980 — He was hired by the National Police in Pusan and settled in the village of Torongni.
• December 1981 — He was transferred to the local police station in Kungyu.
• April 26, 1982 (afternoon) — Woo Bun-Kon had an argument with his live-in girlfriend.
• April 26, 1982 (4 p.m.) — He reported for duty at the police station.
• April 26, 1982 (about 7:30 p.m.) — He returned home, punched and kicked his girlfriend, and smashed the furniture.
• April 26, 1982 (around 9:30 p.m.) — He began shooting on passers-by in a marketplace in the village of Torongni.
• April 27, 1982 (early hours) — He took his final two grenades, strapped them to his body, and detonated them, killing himself and three hostages.

Background

Woo 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, he settled in the village of Torongni in December 1981.

He 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. He became enraged, left the house, and went to the police station where he reported for duty at 4 p.m. He began drinking heavily.

The offence

After punching and kicking his girlfriend and smashing the furniture, Woo made his way to the police armory. As other officers were at a meeting, he managed to gather an arsenal consisting of two M2 carbines, 180 rounds of ammunition, and seven hand grenades. He stole a single high-powered rifle and some grenades and walked out of the armory with these in hand. He then raided the police armory’s weapons and built a personal arsenal.

He walked from house to house, abused his position as a police officer to make people feel safe, and shot victims or blew entire families up with a grenade. When he shot a certain number of people in a village, he ran to another village and continued the killing.

The rampage continued for about eight hours, into the early morning hours of April 27.

Victims and locations

Woo proceeded village to village in Uiryeong province and tore through five villages. The victims could not defend themselves because they thought he was a friendly officer handling disturbances, and because guns were banned to civilians in Korea. He killed victims in multiple villages, including:

• Torongni: He began shooting on passers-by in a marketplace around 9:30 p.m. He wounded Chun Mal-soon after she had gone to investigate the shots.
• Kungryu: He went to the post office, killed three phone operators, and cut off the telephone lines to prevent others from calling emergency services.
• Ungye: Police said he killed 18 people in the village of Ungye.
• Pyongchon: Police said he killed 24 people in the village of Pyongchon. A separate account described killing between 53 and 79 villagers, but officials gave an official death toll of 53, while some newspapers reported higher figures.

A 16-year-old boy was ordered to get Woo a soft drink from a grocery store, after which Woo shot the boy and his family. In one case, he killed an entire family with a grenade.

Hostages and end of rampage

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.

Measures by authorities and investigation

After the killings, the Interior Minister of South Korea, Suh Chung-hwa, believed he had failed at his job of protecting the peace and resigned his post. Roh Tae-woo was appointed as the new Interior Minister.

A special parliamentary team was formed to investigate the shooting and its handling by the police, consisting of 19 parliamentarians and led by Home Affairs Committee chairman Kim Chong-hoh. The South Korean Cabinet decided to pay compensations to the victims and their families.

The provincial chief of police was suspended, and four other officers were arrested for negligence of duty. They were charged with neglect of duty for having failed to prevent Woo Bom Kon from taking two carbines and 180 rounds of ammunition from the police armory and seven grenades from an army post. The national police chief Ahn Ung Mo also offered to resign and assume responsibility for what was viewed as a breakdown of the security system’s ability to react quickly.

Aftermath

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

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.” Another account stated she described him as “a little eccentric.”

Home Minister Suh Chung-hwa and the national police chief Ahn Ung Mo offered to resign as a form of atonement, although they did not actually quit their post in one account. Woo killed himself with two of the grenades.

Other details

Woo was also referred to as Woo “Power” Bum-Kon and Woo Kum-kon in some parts of the narrative. The attack was described as spanning approximately 200 miles south of Seoul.

Shin We Do, a 52-year-old shopkeeper, 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.”

Chun Yong Sup, a 45-year-old farmer, 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.”