”I was just exercising”... 30-year-old man who brandished a Japanese sword in South Korea given ”emergency hospitalization”

A man in his 30s who was arrested by police for brandishing a Japanese sword in a vacant lot in a residential area was rushed to hospital.
On the 6th, the Hirata Police Station took measures to urgently hospitalize suspect A, who is suspected of violating the law on the safety management of firearms, swords, explosives, etc., and the law on the punishment of violent acts, etc.
Emergency hospitalization is a system whereby a person who is suspected to have a mental illness may be admitted to a mental health facility for up to three days if there is a danger of harming themselves or others and the situation is urgent.
The suspect, A, is accused of brandishing a Japanese sword in a vacant lot in a residential area in Paengseong-eup, Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, at around 11:22 a.m. on the 6th.
When the police were called to the scene after receiving a report from a resident, suspect A had already disappeared.
Police then began tracking suspect A's movements and arrested him at around 2:00 p.m., approximately two hours and 40 minutes later, at an internet cafe about two kilometers from the crime scene.
Police have seized the Japanese sword that was brandished in suspect A's car on that day, as well as three other Japanese swords and one wooden sword.
The police found and confiscated the swords. It was confirmed that all of the Japanese swords in Suspect A's possession were unlicensed. During the police investigation, Suspect A stated, "I like knives and bought them on the internet.
" He was just exercising. " A's hospital stay was extended with the family's consent. A police official said, "As this is an ongoing case, we are unable to provide an exact date.
"I cannot explain the contents," he said. Meanwhile, in the recent spate of incidents involving Japanese swords and other lethal weapons, the ruling and opposition parties have been pushing for the revision of the Firearms and Explosives Act (a law on the safety management of firearms, swords, explosives, etc.).
On the 29th of last month, in an apartment complex in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, a man brandished a Japanese sword and killed a neighbor in his 40s.
Later, in an apartment building in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, a man in his 60s was arrested by his neighbor in his 70s for clearing away an ashtray used by residents in the apartment building's lounge.
He has also been arrested for brandishing jungle knives at people.