'Serial Rapist' Returns to Suwon Downtown Area... Schools and Markets Nearby, Suwon City "Preparing Countermeasures"

Area with High Foot Traffic Due to Subway and Large Mart
Past Serial Sexual Assaults on 10 Women in Their 20s in Suwon

Park Byunghwa (41), known as the so-called 'Suwon Balbari,' who serially sexually assaulted 10 women in the past, lived in Hwaseong for 1 year and 6 months after his release, then returned to Suwon, and Suwon City is struggling to come up with countermeasures.

On the 14th, the Women's Safety Division of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency announced that they had been notified of Park Byunghwa's change of residence by the Suwon Probation Office under the Ministry of Justice. Park Byunghwa was sentenced to 15 years in prison for breaking into residences in the Gwonseon and Yeongtong areas of Suwon from December 2002 to October 2007 and sexually assaulting 10 women in their 20s, and was released on October 31, 2022, after serving his full term. Afterward, he lived in a one-room apartment in Sugiri, Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong City. This location was about 200 meters from the back gate of Suwon University and about 400 meters in a straight line from Sugicho Elementary School.

At a one-room apartment in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, where serial rapist Park Byeong-hwa, known as the "Suwon Balbari," resided, Jeong Myeong-geun, mayor of Hwaseong, along with parents and residents of nearby schools, held a protest on November 1, 2022, demanding Park Byeong-hwa's eviction.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Recently, Park Byunghwa moved to a 20-story officetel located in Ingye-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon City, and has already completed his resident registration. A total of 251 households reside in this officetel. This officetel is located in the so-called 'Ingye Box,' the central commercial area of Ingye-dong, the largest entertainment district in Suwon, and the surrounding area has a subway station and large supermarkets, making it a place with a high floating population.

Park Byunghwa's residence has been a subject of controversy even before his release. Before his detention, in Suwon City where Park Byunghwa lived, Mayor Lee Jaejun, along with four local members of the National Assembly, visited the Ministry of Justice to deliver a 'petition opposing the residence of the serial rapist in Suwon' and held a sign protest in front of the Ministry of Justice rejecting the serial rapist's residence in Suwon. Eventually, when Park Byunghwa lived in Hwaseong City after his release, Hwaseong City and its citizens held consecutive press conferences and rallies from the day of his release demanding his eviction. The owner of the one-room apartment where Park lived even filed an eviction lawsuit (a claim for delivery of land and building) against him but ultimately lost the case.

It is known that Park Byunghwa did not engage in any special social activities after moving into the one-room apartment in Hwaseong City following his release. Last year, it was revealed that he had overdosed on antidepressants, and it was also found that he applied for basic living security benefits citing financial hardship.

Upon learning of Park Byunghwa's return to Suwon, Suwon City plans to discuss future response measures on the morning of the 16th at 9 a.m., chaired by Mayor Lee Jaejun, with related agencies including the Suwon Probation Office and Suwon Southern Police Station. A Suwon City official stated, "It is understood that he registered his residence after signing a lease contract," and added, "We will prepare countermeasures as quickly as possible."