South Korea is generally considered a safe country, with a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to official statistics, well below the global average of about six per 100,000.
The country has, however, seen a number of stabbing attacks in recent years.
In May 2025, a man stabbed three police officers, while three people were stabbed to death at a Seoul pizza restaurant that September.
More recently in May, a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed and another teenager hurt in the southwestern city of Gwangju by a man in his 20s, who was later sentenced by a court to life in prison.