Woo Bum-kon
South KoreaBiography of U Bomgon
U Bomgon, a South Korean police officer, became known for committing the largest mass murder in the history of criminology in April 1982. His unthinkable act took place in Kensan-Namdo, South Korea, resulting in the deaths of 57 people, including himself, and injuring 35 others.
Early Life and Military Service
U Bomgon was born on February 24, 1955, in South Korea. He served in the South Korean Marine Corps until 1978.
Police Career
In December 1980, Bomgon joined the national police force in Pusan. He later moved to the village of Torongni in December 1981 after transferring to a neighboring division in Kungyu.
The Massacre
On the afternoon of April 26, 1982, Bomgon had an argument with his girlfriend, Chun Mal-soon, who woke him up by slapping a fly on his chest. Angered by this incident, Bomgon left home and went to the police station, where he reported his arrival at 16:00 and started drinking. He returned home around 19:30, assaulted his girlfriend using both fists and kicks, destroyed furniture, and then decided to arm himself.
Bomgon returned to the police station and, taking advantage of the fact that other officers were at a meeting, secretly obtained 7 hand grenades, 2 M2 carbines, and 180 rounds of ammunition. At around 21:30, Bomgon began shooting at pedestrians in the market of Torongni village, injuring Chun Mal-soon who tried to investigate the source of the gunfire.
The next target for the enraged Bomgon was a nearby post office in Kungryu village, where he killed three telephone operators and cut the phone lines to prevent others from calling emergency services.
Bomgon then proceeded to walk from village to village, using his position as a police officer to gain access to homes and shoot their inhabitants. He killed 18 people in Ungye village and 24 in Pyongchon village. After this rampage, Bomgon ordered a 16-year-old teenager to buy a non-alcoholic beverage from a grocery store. Once the teenager fulfilled the task, Bomgon shot him and his family.
Most of Bomgon's victims were shot using the M2 carbine, but he also used one hand grenade to kill an entire family. Despite the police being informed about their colleague's actions, he managed to evade capture for a whole eight hours.
On the night of April 27, after his wild fury in five villages in the Uiryeong province, Bomgon strapped the remaining two grenades from his arsenal to his body. He hid in the home of 68-year-old Mr. Suh In-Su, holding him and his family hostage. After the police surrounded the house, Bomgon detonated himself and three of his hostages. In-Su was severely injured.
In total, the police officer-killer took the lives of 57 people and injured 35. Such an incident had never occurred before in the history of criminology. Later, Chun Mal-soon stated that her boyfriend suffered from an inferiority complex and was deeply affected by the comments of villagers regarding their unmarried status. The police station chief where Bomgon served was later dismissed, and four other officials were arrested for their negligence.
After the investigation, the South Korean government decided to compensate the victims of Bomgon and their families.
