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Police officer Woo’s massacre and a state’s long silence (KOR)

Published: 27 Apr. 2026, 13:55

Roh Jeong-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

Woo Bum-kon, a low-ranking police officer, was known for exceptional marksmanship. In the Marine Corps, he had been recognized as a top shooter, and his skills later won him a post in the 101 Security Unit guarding the presidential office. But he was also notorious for a violent temper and drinking problem, earning him the nickname “mad tiger.” Although judged unfit for duty, he was not dismissed. After serving at Uiryeong Police Station, he was transferred on Dec. 30, 1981, to the Gungnyu substation in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang.

Oh Tae-wan, then Uiryeong County governor of South Gyeongsang, lays flowers at a memorial service for the so-called “Woo Bum-kon shooting incident” at the Uiryeong April 26 Memorial Park in Pyeongchon-ri, Gungnyu-myeon, Uiryeong, on the morning of April 26, 2024. The incident refers to a massacre carried out from the night of April 26 to the early hours of the following day in 1982, when Woo Bum-kon, a police officer assigned to the Gungnyu substation of Uiryeong Police Station, seized firearms and ammunition and killed 56 residents in the area, while leaving more than 30 others dead or seriously injured. [YONHAP]

The following year, Woo began living with a local woman. His state of mind reportedly deteriorated as her family opposed their relationship and marriage. One afternoon, the woman returned home before an evening shift and swatted a fly that had landed on Woo’s chest while he slept. A quarrel followed. After leaving for the substation, Woo returned home drunk at about 7:30 p.m., assaulted her and left again when neighbors rebuked him.

He then armed himself with carbines, ammunition and grenades taken from a reserve forces armory. At around 9:40 p.m., he began moving through Gungnyu and nearby villages, firing at residents. The killings were chillingly unhurried. He even stopped at a wake, offered condolences, drank alcohol and then resumed shooting. Police and the government deployed combat police units but failed to halt him in time, exposing grave failures in command, staffing and response.

The rampage ended only around 5:35 a.m. the next day. In a house in Pyeongchon-ri, Woo detonated two grenades, killing four members of one family and himself. The massacre left 56 people dead at the scene and 34 others seriously wounded. It occurred on April 27, 1982, and remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in Korea’s modern history.

The tragedy did not end with the gunfire. The military government focused on controlling coverage and containing the scandal rather than openly confronting the disaster. Even after democratization, remembrance was delayed for decades. No proper public memorial was held by either government or civic groups until Uiryeong County organized a memorial service in 2024, 42 years later. A formal police apology came only the following year.

The shooting may have begun as one man’s violent breakdown. What followed, however, was a broader institutional failure by the police and the state. May the victims rest in peace and their bereaved families finally find some measure of calm.

우 순경 총기난사 사건
노정태 작가·경제사회연구원 전문위원

우범곤 순경은 해병대에서 특등사수로 뽑힐 정도로 사격 실력이 출중했다. 청와대를 지키는 101경비단에 발탁되기도 했다. 문제는 ‘미친 호랑이’라는 별명이 붙을 만큼 난폭한 성격과 술버릇이었다. 근무 부적격자 판정을 받았지만 해임되지 않았고 의령경찰서를 거쳐 1981년 12월 30일부터 경남 의령 궁류지서에서 일하게 되었다. 이듬해 이웃 여성과 교제하며 동거하기 시작한 후로 그의 심사는 더 뒤틀렸다. 연인의 가족이 결혼과 교제에 반대하고 있었기 때문이었다.

그러던 어느 날, 동거녀가 저녁 시간 근무를 위해 집에 돌아와 점심을 먹고 낮잠을 자던 우 순경의 가슴에 앉은 파리를 때렸다. 말다툼이 벌어져 한참 싸우고 난 후 지서로 향한 우 순경은 오후 7시 30분경 술에 취한 채 집으로 돌아왔다. 동거녀를 주먹으로 폭행한 그는 사람들이 꾸짖자 다시 집을 나갔고, 예비군 무기고에서 카빈 소총과 실탄 및 수류탄을 꺼내 무장했다. 우 순경 총기 난사 사건의 시작이었다.

그는 밤 9시 40분부터 유유히 궁류와 인근 마을을 쏘다니며 학살극을 벌였다. 중간에 상가에 들려 조문을 하고 술을 얻어 마신 후 다시 총기를 난사하기까지 했다. 경찰과 정부는 전투경찰 부대를 투입해 놓고도 범행을 제때 막지 못했다. 결국 다음날 새벽 5시 35분 무렵이 되어서야 학살극이 중단되었다. 평촌리의 민가에서 수류탄 두 발을 터뜨려 일가족 4명을 살해하고 본인도 폭사한 것이다. 총 56명이 현장에서 살해당하고 34명이 중상을 입었다. 1982년 4월 27일의 일이었다.

참사는 거기서 끝나지 않았다. 군사정권은 보도를 통제하며 사건을 덮는 데만 급급했다. 민주정권이 들어선 후에도 사정은 크게 달라지지 않았다. 민관 어디에서도 추모행사 한 번 열지 못한 채 세월이 흘러 결국 42년만인 2024년에야 의령군 주최로 위령제(사진)가 열렸고, 그다음 해에야 경찰의 공식적 사과가 이루어졌다. 총기 난사는 한 사람의 일탈이었을지 몰라도, 그 후의 일은 경찰과 국가 전체의 잘못이었다고 볼 수밖에 없는 이유다. 희생자의 명복과 유족의 평온을 빈다.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.