Prosecutors indicted Choi Chung-rak, 59, on charges of attempting to kill 10 people with a knife at a shopping complex in Incheon and carrying a weapon in a public place. The alleged attack occurred on October 13 while Choi was wearing an electronic ankle monitor, after investigators said he abandoned an earlier plan to target hospital staff because of heavy security.
Prosecutors said he then prepared the weapon to attack random members of the public and concluded that the case was a motive-driven crime involving attacks on physically vulnerable people. A psychiatric evaluation found a history of treatment but no evidence that Choi was mentally incapacitated at the time of the alleged attack.