A middle school student who posted in a KakaoTalk open chat room that the student would kill a first grader in Seoul's Cheonho-dong has been apprehended by police.
Jeju West Police Station said on the 2nd that it had taken a teenager, identified as A, into custody on suspicion of public intimidation and plans to refer the case to prosecutors soon.
A is suspected of posting on an open KakaoTalk chat room on the 24th that "I will kill a first grader in Cheonho-dong." However, the post reportedly did not identify a specific school or student.
Seoul Seocho Police Station, which first received the case, handed it over to Jeju West Police Station after tracing the author of the post and confirming that A's mobile phone was located on Jeju Island.
During police questioning, A reportedly admitted to the crime and said, "I posted it without much thought."
If someone threatens to harm the lives or bodies of an unspecified number of people, the crime of public intimidation may apply, punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.