Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

South Korea Shooting Spree

Woo Bum-kon (or Wou Bom-kon,February 24, 1955 – April 27, 1982) was a South Korean policemanand spree killer who killed 56 people and wounded 35 others inseveral villages in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, SouthKorea, during the night from April 26 to April 27, 1982, beforecommitting suicide.

His rampage remained the deadliestknown mass murder committed by a lone gunman in modern history untilthe Norway attacks of July 22, 2011. It was also the deadliestdeliberate single loss of life in South Korean history until theDaegu subway fire in 2003.

Background

Woo had served in the South Koreanmarines until 1978. In December 1980, he was hired by the NationalPolice in Pusan and settled in the village of Togok-ri in December1981, after being transferred to the local police station in Kungyu.

Uiryeong massacre

Prelude

Woo had an argument with his live-ingirlfriend, Chun Mal-soon (전말순),on the afternoon of April 26, 1982, after she had woken him byswatting a fly on his chest. Enraged, he left the house and went tothe police station, where he reported for duty at 4:00 p.m. Accordingto early reports, he began drinking heavily, though eyewitnesseslater stated that Woo did not appear drunk during his rampage, andaccording to local officials, he would have been unable to cover 4 km(2.5 mi) of difficult, rocky terrain while intoxicated.

At about 7:30 p.m., Woo returned home,punched and kicked his girlfriend and smashed the furniture, beforemaking his way to the reservists' armory and gathering severalweapons, consisting of two M2 carbines, 144-180 rounds of ammunition,and seven hand grenades. Some reports stated that the other officerswere at a meeting, and he therefore managed to grab the weaponsunnoticed, though others mentioned that he had intimidated the guardsto gain access.

Victims

Togok-ri (토곡리)

Jeon Un-suk (전은숙),23

Son Jin-tae (손진태),26

Apgok-ri (압곡리)

Gang Pan-im (강판임),61

Choi Bun-ee (최분이),71

Jeon Jong-jeong (전종정),36

Baek Jeom-ag (백점악),36, wife of Jeon Jong-jeong

Lee Chun-su (이춘수),50

Son Jeong-hee (손정희),50

Yu Baek-am (유백암),59

Lee Pan-su (이판수),50

Mun Sun-ee (문순이),44, wife of Lee Pan-su

Ungye-ri (운계리)