Vehicle Damaged, Voluntarily Surrendered to Busan Police After Fare Evasion Taxi Ride in Seoul... Why Did the North Korean Defector Do It?

Busan Saha Police Station.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A man in his 40s, a North Korean defector who chartered a taxi from Seoul to Busan, was arrested for failing to pay about 600,000 won in taxi fare. What happened?

Mr. A damaged four parked vehicles, including car windows, in Wonju, Gangwon Province, then went to Seoul, and after riding without paying, came to a police station in Busan where he was investigated and immediately arrested.

According to Busan Saha Police Station on the 21st, a taxi from Seoul entered the police station parking lot on the afternoon of the 18th.

The passenger, Mr. A, introduced himself to the police officer as a North Korean defector and said, "I came to find my cousin sister who lives in Dadae-dong, Saha-gu," asking for help to find her.

The police officer in charge of protecting North Korean defectors checked the list of North Korean defectors to assist Mr. A, but the cousin sister's name was not on the list.

The police asked him for details to see if they could help in another way. From then on, Mr. A freely told the story of why he came to Busan.

Mr. A, who defected from North Korea and entered South Korea in 2014 after passing through three countries, had committed various crimes, was sentenced to prison for theft, and was released on the 13th after serving his sentence.

On the 17th, he planned to meet an acquaintance he met while in prison in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, but no matter how long he waited, the acquaintance did not show up.

Angry, Mr. A moved from Taebaek to Wonju and threw stones several times at vehicles parked near an elementary school.

Four vehicles had their windows and other parts damaged by Mr. A’s stone-throwing, with repair costs estimated at nearly 5 million won.

After that, Mr. A went to Seoul and on the morning of the 18th, took a taxi from Yongsan Station heading to Busan. He told the taxi driver, "I need to find my cousin sister who lives in Dadae-dong, Saha-gu, but I don’t know the exact address, so let’s go to the police station."

When they arrived at Saha Police Station, the meter fare was 590,000 won. However, Mr. A had no cash or card in his pocket.

To verify the facts revealed during the interview, the police checked with Wonju Police Station. Having secured CCTV footage and damage reports of the vehicle vandalism, the police immediately arrested Mr. A on the spot.

The police arrested Mr. A on the 20th on charges including special property damage and fraud.

Mr. A admitted to damaging vehicles and taking a taxi without the ability to pay the fare, and additionally confessed to stealing a bag.

A Saha Police Station official said, "He says the bag he had when arrested was stolen, but he cannot remember where he stole it from."

One police officer said, "Seeing him come to the police station voluntarily and confess to the crimes as they are, I felt like he wanted to go back to prison."