[Reporter’s Notebook] Government and Police Still Failing to Stop 'Gwanaksan Daramswi' After 30 Years

The crime scene where Choi Yoon-jong (30) raped and murdered a woman who was walking alone on the 17th is near the Gwanaksan Ecological Park trail. Similar cases of sexual assault, robbery, and extortion have repeatedly occurred in Gwanaksan for over 30 years. At that time, hikers in Gwanaksan called these vicious criminals "Gwanaksan Daramswi" (Gwanaksan Squirrels) in fear because they committed crimes while moving around the mountain like squirrels.

Choi Yoon-jong, accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a woman on a hiking trail in Sillim-dong, is being transferred to the prosecution at the Gwanak Police Station in Seoul on the 25th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The first "Gwanaksan Daramswi" caught by the police was Kim Yong-nam, a man in his 20s who sexually assaulted about 60 women visiting Gwanaksan in 1993 and stole about 30 million won in valuables. In 2003, Cha, a man in his 50s who threatened female hikers with a weapon about 30 times and stole about 10 million won, also shocked the public as a Gwanaksan Daramswi. Around that time, during the investigation of numerous "Daramswi" infesting the Gwanaksan trails, a man falsely accused as a suspect committed suicide.

After 20 years, Choi Yoon-jong reappeared as a Gwanaksan Daramswi who even committed murder. Right after arresting Choi Yoon-jong, the police promoted the operation of a mountain patrol unit in Gwanaksan by inviting reporters to the scene. They formed five teams of two officers each to patrol the less frequented trails without CCTV in Gwanak-gu from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, this showy and belated policing cannot eradicate the Gwanaksan Daramswi. During the "Suraksan Murder Case" in 2016, when a woman was killed with a weapon on a hiking trail, the police also operated a mountain patrol unit temporarily for three months. This mountain patrol unit is also said to be a one-month trial operation. There is no long-term or fundamental plan for what to do if the next Gwanaksan Daramswi, imitating Choi Yoon-jong, appears afterward.

While the government and police are floundering, an ordinary citizen in his 50s whom the reporter met on the Gwanaksan trail during the investigation suggested a solution. He requested, "Please install dense CCTV and reporting facilities so that people don't even think about committing crimes." Gwanaksan has many entrances and numerous side trails connected to the hiking paths, making it easy for criminals to approach victims and escape after crimes. This has been analyzed since the "Daramswi" first appeared about 30 years ago, explaining why their appearances are especially frequent. This citizen’s suggestion is a model answer that everyone knows but has not been implemented in the past 30 years. It is a citizen safety measure that the government and police should urgently promote now, far more urgently than a one-month "patrol show."