Prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death penalty for the suspect behind the deadly stabbing rampage last year in Bundang, south of Seoul, which left two people dead and 12 others wounded.

Choi Won-jong, 23, is accused of ramming his mother’s vehicle into random pedestrians outside a busy department store in Budang and attacking shoppers with a knife on Aug. 3, 2023.

Two people, aged 20 and 65 at the time, died at a hospital while under treatment for injuries after the car crash. Twelve others were also injured in the rampage, according to officials.

In the final hearing at Suwon District Court, prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Choi, along with an order to install an electronic tracking device on him for 30 years.

Records have shown that Choi was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder in 2020. Officials suspect Choi’s mental health deteriorated while living in isolation and he started developing delusions of persecution.

Source: Yonhap News Agency