EXTREMISTS from South Korea

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary South Korean Extremists of all time. This list of famous South Korean Extremists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Yoo Young-chul (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 50.89, Yoo Young-chul is the most famous South Korean Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Yoo Young-chul (Korean: 유영철, romanized: Yu Yeongcheol; born 18 April 1970) is a South Korean serial killer, sex offender, and self-confessed cannibal. After he admitted to the murders of multiple people, mostly prostitutes and wealthy old couples, the Seoul Central District Court convicted him of 20 murders, although one case was dismissed when it turned out that the crime had been committed by another serial killer, Jeong Nam-gyu. Yoo burned three and mutilated at least 11 of his victims and admitted that he ate the livers of some of his victims. He committed his crimes between September 2003 to July 2004 and was apprehended on 15 July 2004. Yoo explained his motives in front of a TV camera saying "Women shouldn't be sluts, and the rich should know what they've done."

2. Seung-Hui Cho (1984 - 2007)

With an HPI of 41.06, Seung-Hui Cho is the 2nd most famous South Korean Extremist.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Seung-Hui Cho (Korean: 조승희, Korean name ordering Cho Seung-hui; January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007) was a South Korean mass murderer responsible for the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others with two semi-automatic pistols on April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. This killing is the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, and was at the time the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. A senior-level undergraduate student of creative writing at the university, Cho died by suicide after police breached the doors of Virginia Tech's Norris Hall which Cho had locked with heavy chains, where most of the shooting had taken place. Born in South Korea, Cho was eight years old when he immigrated to the United States with his family. He became a U.S. permanent resident as a South Korean national. At the time of the shooting, Cho had the legal status of resident alien. In middle school, he was diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder with selective mutism, as well as major depressive disorder. After his diagnosis, he began receiving treatment and continued to receive therapy and special education support until his junior year of high school. Cho was bullied throughout high school. During Cho's last two years at Virginia Tech, several instances of his abnormal behavior, as well as plays and other writings he submitted containing references to violence, caused concern among teachers and classmates. In the aftermath of the shootings, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine convened a panel consisting of various officials and experts to investigate and examine the response and handling of issues related to the shootings. The panel released its final report in August 2007, devoting more than 20 pages to detailing Cho's troubled history. In the report, the panel criticized the failure of the educators and mental health professionals who came into contact with Cho during his college years to notice his deteriorating condition and help him. The panel also criticized misinterpretations of privacy laws and gaps in Virginia's mental health system and gun laws. In addition, the panel faulted Virginia Tech administrators in particular for failing to take immediate action after the first two deaths of Emily J. Hilscher and Ryan C. "Stack" Clark. Nevertheless, the report did acknowledge that Cho must still be held primarily responsible for the killing, despite his "emotional and psychological disabilities [having] undoubtedly clouded his own situation".