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A friend of Ji’s who gave his family name as Chung, who was with the assailant until the day before the attack, told the Chosun Ilbo that Ji threatened on May 17, three days before he attacked the GNP chairwoman, to “slash Oh Se-hoon with a box cutter.” “Ji told me on the eve of the attack on Park he visited Oh’s election camp and got information about his schedule,” Chung said, where Ji discovered that Oh was to campaign in Shinchon. Shinchon would be the most crowded place, and Ji announced he would attack there, according to Chung.

Despite being out of prison on parole and financially strapped, Ji had an expensive phone and paid a huge sum of money for his bill, Chung said. “He was always talking to several people on the phone,” Chung said. “Once he started talking, it never lasted less than an hour and a half, and his phone bills were W500,000-600,000 a month.” Chung says he expected the phone to be cut off because Ji did not have the money but was surprised to see that it was not.

A joint team of prosecutors and police set up to probe the attack on Monday sought arrest warrants for Ji and another person identified as Park (52), who caused a disturbance at the site almost at the same time. Prosecutors charged Ji with attempted murder and Park with violating election law and damaging property.

The team raided Chung’s house in Incheon, where Ji lived, and Park’s house at midnight on Monday. It is sifting through Ji’s belongings and investigating Park’s computer and other items it seized in the raid.

(englishnews@chosun.com )