Korean man, 23, who allegedly stabbed student, 17, to death wanted authorities to not disclose name

Korean police revealed the identity of a 23-year-old Korean man on May 14, 2026, after he was arrested for fatally stabbing a high school girl and injuring a male student in Gwangju on May 5, 2026.

The Korea Herald reported that the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency said the personal information of Jang Yoon Gi is set to remain posted on its website for 30 days from May 14, 2026, to Jun. 15, 2026.

This includes Jang's name, age and mugshot.

South Korea discloses a suspect's identity under strict guidelines, The Korea Herald reported, adding that this only takes place when a review committee determines the case to have met certain legal criteria.

Though the decision to reveal Jang's identity was made during a May 8 review meeting, its release was delayed as Jang refused to consent to the disclosure.

Fatal stabbing

This comes after Jang stabbed a 17-year-old second-year high school girl to death on May 5, 2026, where he also injured a 17-year-old male student who came to help after hearing her screams.

According to The Korea Times, the three were not known to each other.

The attack occurred at around 12:11am local time that day near a university in Gwangju, South Korea.

He had apparently spotted the victim a distance away from the crime scene before he later attacked her from behind, The Chosun Daily reported.

Following his crime, Jang was said to have immediately entered a building's restroom to wash his hands and later washed and dried his clothes at an unmanned laundromat, according to The Chosun Daily.

Jang reportedly said during police questioning: "I was going to die anyway, so I wanted to take someone with me."

He claimed his actions were not premeditated as he had supposedly decided to commit the crime while he was contemplating suicide, according to The Korea Times.

Prepared to murder another woman

The case has since been transferred to the prosecution, The Korea Times reported, adding that Jang had prepared to murder a former female work colleague, before he vented his anger on the two students

Prior to this, Jang's former colleague, a Vietnamese national in her 20s, had reported him to the police for stalking on May 3.

He then allegedly targeted the female student out of anger after he was suspected of having searched for the woman who had filed the report and left the area.

Jang said "I am sorry" and remained silent in response to reporters' questions.