Two killing sprees in a week involving hunting rifles have raised alarm about the dangers of firearms in Korea, where people have so far felt safe from guns.

On Wednesday, a man in Sejong City killed three people before shooting himself, apparently over a dispute about money with his ex-lover.

On Friday, a 75-year-old man in Hwangseong, Gyeonggi Province, killed his older brother and the older brother’s wife, as well as the police officer who responded to the crime, before turning the rifle on himself. The killer, who left a suicide note that indicated his resentment toward the brother and a determination to kill him, was reported to have continually demanded large sums of money from the wealthier sibling.

In the aftermath of the two killings, the authorities have vowed tighter gun controls. The two killers held licenses to possess hunting rifles and did not break any law in checking out their rifles from the police stations where they were kept. Critics have repeatedly pointed out that there is no control over how the firearms are used once they have been checked out from the police station and the latest killings illustrate this shortcoming of the law.

Currently, people need to obtain a license to carry firearms, which are then kept by the police to be released to the license-holder between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. during the hunting season ― from November to January.

While the police are required to conduct background checks on the license applicants ― including checks on their criminal records and mental health records ― the enforcement of that requirement must have been lax: The Hwaseong killer was an ex-convict with a long list of crimes, but he still held a firearms license.

The police supervision of firearms was also lax. The police in Sejong City allowed the gunman to check out two rifles in violation of the regulation that stipulates that only one rifle may be checked out.

The police said that it would check on all those who hold firearms licenses and revoke the licenses given to convicted criminals and those who were reported to the police for fighting. Firearms licenses will be subject to renewal every three years, instead of the current five years, and conditions for the license will be more stringent, the police said.

There are more than 160,000 licensed firearms, including more than 37,000 hunting rifles, any of which could potentially be used in a crime. In the past two years, 26 people were killed or injured in incidents involving firearms. Clearly there is a need for stronger supervision of the deadly weapons, such as tracking of firearms with GPS devices and storage and distribution of bullets at hunting grounds.