Entering through the shared entrance by reading the password and 'sneaking' only expensive-looking packages

A man in his 20s broke in using the password written next to the main entrance and stole an expensive delivery box before fleeing.
[Photo by Gyeonggi Nambu Police YouTube video capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A man in his 20s who habitually stole delivery packages left in front of doors while roaming one-room apartments in the Suwon area was caught by the police. It is known that this man broke in using the password written next to the shared entrance of a multi-family housing complex.

The Suwon Southern Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that they arrested a man in his 20s, Mr. A, on charges of stealing delivery packages 18 times from one-room apartments and multi-family houses in the Suwon area from December last year to February this year.

On the 16th, the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency released part of the CCTV footage showing Mr. A’s crime on their YouTube channel. The video titled "Why You Should Not Write Down the 'Shared Entrance Door Password'" shows a man in his 20s wearing a mask lingering at the entrance, then opening the locked door with the password and entering. Afterwards, the man is seen carrying a delivery package and calmly leaving the building.

The police identified Mr. A by checking CCTV near the one-room apartments on the 9th of last month and sent him to the prosecution with a recommendation for detention and indictment. Mr. A, who was caught by the police, admitted to the charges and reportedly confessed to additional crimes. The police are also tracking stolen goods that Mr. A sold through secondhand trading applications.

According to the police, Mr. A broke in after seeing the password written next to the shared entrance of the multi-family housing building and selectively stole only high-value items, totaling about 5.5 million won worth of delivery goods. In particular, Mr. A took advantage of the fact that due to COVID-19, delivery workers leave packages at the door without face-to-face contact with the recipient, and used the less crowded afternoon hours to break in and snatch the items.

A police official said, "This is a case where criminals exploited the fact that the password was written on the entrance door," and urged, "If the password written on the shared entrance is immediately deleted and shared only among the household members, crimes can be prevented."