South Korean police revoke possession permits for over 6,000 swords, some of which have criminal records

In South Korea, following a murder weapon incident in Seoul, police conducted a full investigation of all swords licensed for possession, resulting in the revocation of licenses for approximately 19% of the weapons.
According to the Korean National Police Agency on the 6th, during the two months of August and September, 73,424 of the 82,641 swords licensed for possession (88.8%) were inspected, and 10,000 were found to be dead.
The possession permits of 3,661 swords (18.6%) were revoked. The inspection was carried out following a "Japanese sword murder case" that occurred in an apartment in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul in July.
The most common reason for the revocation of possession permits as a result of this inspection was "lost or stolen swords" (6,444 swords, 47.2%), and some of them were
Other reasons included the owner's "criminal history" (358, 2.6%) and "mental illness" (48, 0.4%). In addition, even without the above reasons, some owners were deemed "dangerous" and voluntarily withheld their licenses.
There were also cases where the right to possess swords was abandoned (6,162 swords, 45.1%). The police collected 6,305 swords whose possession permits had been revoked, excluding those lost or stolen, and plan to destroy them at the end of the year.
On the other hand, we are continuing to check the location of 9,217 swords (11.7%) for which we have not been able to contact the licensee, and are also working to obtain the sword storage order in accordance with the Firearms, Swords, Explosives, etc. Control Law.
After public notice is served, the procedure to revoke the license will begin. Cho Ji-ho, Commissioner-General of the National Police Agency, said, "We will quickly allay public concerns by carrying out effective inspections and crackdowns on swords and knives, and we will also work to eliminate gun ownership."
"We will swiftly eliminate blind spots in the safety management of swords through measures such as revising the Gun, Swords, Explosives, etc. Control Law."