Police officers check the weapon storage rack of Gwangju Dongbu Police Station in Gwangju, Wednesday. After a man was shot dead by a police officer, questions have been emerging over strict rules about the justifiability in police's use of firearms. Yonhap

A man holding a 36-centimeter knife ignored a police warning to drop it and lunged toward a police officer. After being attacked in the face, the officer took out his handgun and pulled the trigger three times in the scuffle. Two bullets hit his upper body, which resulted in death.

Now, the police officer is under scrutiny over a possible violation of the "standards for police use of force based on the principle of proportionality," which says police officers should aim their guns at "the least injurious area, preferably the thigh areas or lower."

The incident that occurred in Gwangju in the wee hours of Wednesday raised questions over police use of force in Korea, where officers are bound by a set of rigorous rules that make it almost impossible to use firearms without worrying about legal troubles even in the face of urgent danger.

In response to a woman's call for help about a "suspicious man" following her at 3:10 a.m., two police officers rushed to the scene.

After being told to "stop there," the man took out a knife and ignored the warning to drop it. A stun gun used by a junior officer missed him. Angered by the attempt, the man ran toward the other officer, who kicked him before firing a blank cartridge in the air and then three live bullets at the assailant.

In that process, the senior officer sustained injuries in his face and neck areas, for which he received emergency surgery.

The attacker was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A police officer falls on his backside as he fights a man violently resisting in Gwangju, Wednesday. Yonhap

Speaking to The Korea Times, experts said the decision to use a firearm against the attacker appears to be justifiable.

"The officer did not use live bullets immediately. He warned and shot a blank cartridge. And yet, the man kept trying to attack the officer while wielding a knife … There seemed to be no other way to stop him," said Kwack Dae-gyung, a professor at the College of Police and Criminal Justice at Dongguk University. "If the officer ends up being penalized for this, I think it would significantly affect the morale of all police officers."

The rules on police use of force require police officers to consider various factors before and during the use of their firearms, including the resistance level of the attacker, whether other means, such as a baton, can be used instead of a gun and whether the aim was targeting "the least injurious areas." In short, it has to be reasonable, necessary and proportional.

However, police officers are often forced to make "split-second decisions" in circumstances that are tense, highly uncertain and rapidly evolving, said Kwack.

"Thus, I think there should be discussions over whether it would be more reasonable to give them more discretion to use force against criminals violently resisting," he said.

In a similar case that occurred in the southern city of Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, in 2001, a police officer shot at a man who died as a result of a bullet wound in the upper body.

The assailant, a former "ssireum," or Korean wrestling, athlete, repeatedly ignored warnings and attacked a police officer who was trying to detain him. The officer was later indicted on charges of using "excessive force." Eventually, he was acquitted. But in a lawsuit filed by the man's family, the government ordered by the court in 2008 to give them more than 100 million won ($68,000) in compensation.

Legally, the government can exercise its right to indemnity and make police officers like him burden the cost.

To help reduce such legal risks, the National Police Agency pushed to distribute "less lethal" handguns to police officers by the end of 2026. However, the project has been stalled after many technical problems were found.