Number 474

Number 474 Jung Yongjoon (bio) Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton 1 An ordinary-looking man was not what I expected. He was of average height, at five feet six inches, and had a compact build. His body was marked with scars and blemishes but bore no tattoos. I detected none of the anxiety and fretfulness that convicts tend to exhibit when they're taken to jail, saw no veneer of arrogance and power. This, my first glimpse of him, told me he was different. He didn't spew resentment, showed no remorse, didn't seem to be expecting preferential treatment. Down the corridor he walked with measured steps, as if he were strolling through a familiar neighborhood. He entered his cell, and once I had closed the door behind him, he took a leisurely look about the space and with a long, deliberate sigh, turned his relaxed gaze toward the wall. I would be his corrections officer. Before long, the white tag on his prison uniform was replaced with a red one on which was sewn the number 474, and he was placed in solitary confinement. 2 Number 474 had killed fifteen people at a hot spring resort—five national assemblymen, one of them a party chairman; three administrative assistants at the Blue House; two bodyguards; and five members of the general public, including three children under the age of seven. A party convention was being held there, and the assemblymen were soaking in the communal hot tub after dinner. His statement was as follows: "I went into the bathing area with my towel and toiletry kit. I walked around and counted heads—fifteen in all. More than I expected, but I saw no weapons. I secured the door [End Page 63] with the bike lock I had wrapped in the towel. Then I took the gun and knife from the toiletry kit. I fired at random, starting with those closest to the door. Most of them were caught off guard and there was little in the way of resistance. Four men were in the showers and three were on their stools in front of the faucets, scrubbing themselves. Five people were in the hot tub. The other three were in the sauna, and I had to use the knife on them because I was out of ammunition. When it was over, I went into the tub to wash off the blood and wait for the authorities." He spoke in a slow, soft tone as if to make sure he left out no detail. His voice remained steady throughout, with no extremes of emotion, and his expression was unchanged. The police report reads as follows: The suspect is highly trained in the use of weapons. The handgun is a new version of the 9 mm Makarov semiautomatic in common use in Russia. Easily obtained here from Russian seamen if one is so determined. It holds twelve rounds and all twelve were fired, each one on the mark—a remarkable feat. The men in the shower were shot in the back of the head, those on the stools in the temple, and those in the tub in the forehead. The victims couldn't have expected the attack and had no time to retreat from the line of fire. The assailant must have shot them without the slightest hesitation. The knife he used is made in Pakistan but was not designed as a weapon. It is not among the knives and swords for which a permit is required here, and it is readily available for purchase. Three of the victims were killed with it. Here too is evidence of unusual skill: each victim died from a single stab wound deep beneath the chin, which severed the carotid artery. Two of the victims bore defensive wounds—bruises on the right ankle and the back of the neck in one case, a bruise on the left wrist and a dislocated left shoulder in the other. In restraining them, the assailant seems to have targeted pressure points and joints. He was quick and economical in his attack. There is one anomaly: each victim was killed at one stroke, with no gunshot or stab...