A policeman's night of terror left 56 dead and exposed deep government failures.

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1982, a South Korean officer armed with stolen rifles and grenades embarked on a brutal rampage through four villages. The massacre, which lasted until dawn, remained the deadliest single-perpetrator killing spree in modern history for nearly three decades, while government censorship initially hid the full scale of the tragedy.

On the night of April 26, 1982, Woo Bum-kon, a policeman stationed in Uiryeong County, South Korea, began a killing spree that claimed 56 lives. After an argument with his girlfriend, Woo accessed a reservists' armory—reportedly by offering to cover a colleague's shift—and secured two M2 carbines, grenades, and 180 rounds of ammunition. Over several hours, he moved through four villages, targeting residents in their homes, at a post office, and even at a funeral wake.

The police response was marked by severe negligence. While the attack began around 9:30 p.m., the national police headquarters in Seoul was not notified until 1:40 a.m. The four officers who should have been guarding the armory were discovered to be at a hot spring instead. By the time the rampage ended at 3:40 a.m. with Woo’s suicide by grenade, the lack of coordination had allowed the violence to spread across a vast area, complicating the initial casualty counts.

The aftermath triggered significant political fallout. Interior Minister Suh Chung-hwa resigned, and a parliamentary investigation was launched to assess the police failure. However, the administration of President Chun Doo-hwan initially suppressed news of the event, viewing it as a political liability. This censorship, combined with the logistical difficulty of tracking victims across multiple hospitals, led to long-standing disputes over the death toll. It was not until 2024 that a formal memorial park was established in Uiryeong to honor the victims, finally providing a public space for remembrance 42 years later.

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