Roundup: S. Korea to tighten gun control amid frequent shooting rampages

South Korean authorities plan to tighten gun control after frequent shooting rampages occurred in the country this week.

Four people were killed and another injured in a South Korean air-rifle shooting incident in Hwaseong, Gyeonggy Province on Friday.

The incident came just two days after another gunman killed three people in Sejong City before shooting himself dead.

The National Police Agency said in a statement Friday that it will enforce stricter laws and regulations related to gun control following the two cases.

Officials said possible measures include requiring gun owners to renew their license every three years instead of five, reducing the time of taking guns out and limiting the number of police substations that keep guns for legal gun owners.

However, public criticism of the ineffectiveness of the government's gun control after the two deadly attacks remains spreading over the country.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency criticized the systematic loopholes in current controls on hunting weapons.

It said there is no effective monitor system after the police issuing the license for possessing the gun.

The fact that one policeman have to manage more than 500 guns is also not reasonable. The management of bullets has some flaws too.

South Korean gun regulations are rated "restrictive". People should pass criminal and mental health background checks to obtain a license for possessing arms.

Guns must be stored at police stations. Anyone who violates these laws would be imprisoned for up to 10 years or be fined about 18,000 U.S. dollars.

As of the end of January, 2015, 163,664 guns were registered in South Korea, 37424 of which are shotguns and some 90,000 are air rifles.

Legal gun owners are allowed to get their shotguns from the police station between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when the hunting grounds are open.

The period for hunting grounds operation this season was from November 20, 2014 to Feb. 28, 2015. The two fatal cases both happened during this period and the two suspects were retrieved their shotguns from the police station legally.

As all able-bodied men are trained to use guns when undergoing South Korea's compulsory military service, the risk of future gun attack cannot be neglected.

The Korea Times reported that South Korean police have confiscated more than 50,000 firearms over the past five years, demonstrating that concerns are rising over illegal weapons.

Some 25 incidents involving firearms have occurred over the last five years.

In 2014, a gunman shot his wife and lover dead with an air rifle.

In 2012, a gunman turned himself in after shooting his brother' s friend. In 2011, a gunman was arrested for the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend.

But stricter regulations are far from enough.

South Korea's Joongang Daily published an editorial titled " guns and emotions" on Saturday, calling up the police to pay more attention to impulsive crimes arising from people's inability to control their emotions.

"Even if the police enforce tougher standards, they won't necessarily prevent individuals from using their weapons in moments of personal rage," it said, suggesting that the police should require the gun owners to notify the police of gun use a day ahead and to undergo a face-to-face interview with psychiatrists at that time. Endi