"Scared to Operate"... Throwing Cigarette Ashes and Undressing, Chaos at Unmanned Store

In Geoje, Gyeongnam... Same Person Visits Store Three Times a Day
Police Tracking Suspect Based on CCTV Footage

In Geoje-si, Gyeongnam, a man caused a commotion by arbitrarily discarding displayed items and turning an unmanned ice cream store into a mess, prompting the police to track the suspect.

According to Mr. A, a man in his 40s who operates an unmanned ice cream store in Geoje-si, a man entered his store in Gohyeon-dong at around 4:10 a.m. on the 26th.

The man started putting the displayed items into several bags as he grabbed them and then threw the bags around the store. He also took out a drink to drink, took off his clothes, broke a cigarette, and scattered cigarette ashes all over the floor, creating a mess.

A man is throwing an item into a trash can at an unmanned ice cream store in Geoje, Gyeongnam. [Image source: Store CCTV footage, Yonhap News]

After repeating this behavior for about 30 minutes, the man left the store but returned at 8:11 a.m. the same day. As before, he continued to mess up the store’s items and threw things into the trash can. Eventually, he even took off his lower garments to change clothes.

While he was behaving this way, a female student entered the store, and the man suddenly took out a bag, put items from the store into it, and handed it to the student. After a brief conversation, the student left the store with the items and returned about 10 minutes later with friends to put the items back in their places. Then, she asked a friend to call Mr. A using the contact number posted in the store.

The female student reported that the man threatened her by saying, "I know your school and your name, so I will come to find you." After receiving the student’s call and arriving at the store, Mr. A was shocked to see the store in disarray and reported it to the police.

According to Mr. A, the lost items amounted to about 100,000 won. However, this was not the end.

At around 9:30 p.m. that day, the man visited the store for the third time, threw the organized items back into the trash can, threw the padded jacket he was wearing into the trash can, and then left. The man’s bizarre behavior was fully captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) installed inside the store.

Mr. A expressed his distress, fearing that the same incident might happen again. He said, "Sometimes people steal items, but this is the first time someone has made such a mess and caused a disturbance multiple times," adding, "I am scared to operate the store, fearing he might come back and repeat the same actions."

The police are pursuing the man based on Mr. A’s statement and the CCTV footage.