Tragedy in Songdo: Father Kills Son with Homemade Gun

A Shattered Household in Songdo

On a quiet summer evening in July 2025 in Incheon’s Songdo district, a simple birthday gathering turned into a nightmare. A 60-year-old father allegedly used a homemade shotgun loaded with metal pellets to shoot his 34-year-old son in their high-rise apartment. Neighbors watched in shock as police set up a perimeter around the building and the Special Weapons team defused makeshift explosives found at the suspect’s home
Online, residents poured out their horror on Naver blogs and Tistory posts, calling it the most chilling family crime they had ever encountered and questioning how such a tragedy could happen in a tightly controlled society.

Dark Secrets from the Past

Investigations revealed that the suspect had a violent history dating back to the late 1990s while running a video-viewing room in northern Seoul. Court documents show he once threatened a female customer at knifepoint, handcuffed and assaulted her, earning a prison sentence later suspended on appeal. This revelation ignited anger among netizens, who debated whether the legal system had truly rehabilitated him or simply set the stage for a worse atrocity.

Cultural Shock and Public Reaction

In South Korea, civilian firearm ownership is extremely restricted, so the mere existence of a homemade weapon shocked the nation. Forums like DC Inside and FM Korea buzzed with disbelief, praising the swift police response but fearful that homemade arms could slip under the radar. International readers, learning of Korea’s stringent gun laws, wondered how everyday objects could be turned into deadly weapons, and expressed sympathy for a community grappling with such rare but devastating violence.

Questions That Haunt Us

Beyond the headlines lies a painful question: how did a family reach this tragic breaking point? Observers pointed to deep-seated familial tensions hinted at in social media and court filings. Was there an opportunity for intervention before the violence? As readers reflected, mental health advocates in Korea highlighted the urgent need for better outreach and support for families in crisis, reminding everyone that even the most ordinary lives can hide unseen dangers.