A man in his 30s arrested for breaking kiosks and stealing cash
at more than 10 unmanned stores in Seoul
A man in his 30s who habitually damaged kiosks and stole hundreds of thousands of won in cash while moving between unmanned stores in Seoul has been arrested by the police.
According to Yonhap News and other sources on April 23, the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul announced that they had arrested and are investigating a man in his 30s, identified as A, on charges of habitual theft under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. A is suspected of damaging kiosks with a screwdriver and stealing cash stored inside at more than 10 unmanned stores across six districts, including Yongsan-gu, Seoul, between April 12 and 15. The confirmed amount of stolen cash so far is estimated to be about 3 million won.
A man in his 30s who damaged an unmanned store kiosk and stole cash was arrested by the police. Photo by Yongsan Police Station, Seoul.
The police analyzed closed-circuit (CC) TV footage and conducted on-site inspections, determining that thefts committed using similar methods across Seoul were the work of the same perpetrator, and tracked A's movements.
After committing the crimes, A used only cash and relied on public transportation to evade police pursuit. However, the police persistently tracked him by analyzing footage from more than 100 closed-circuit (CC) TVs, eventually pinpointing his last known location to Suncheon in South Jeolla Province. After conducting intensive inquiries around the Suncheon Bus Terminal area, the police located and urgently arrested A on April 17.
According to the police investigation, A is unemployed and has a previous conviction for theft using the same method. It was confirmed that the stolen cash was squandered on online gambling. The police are keeping open the possibility of additional crimes and are continuing their investigation. They plan to refer A to the prosecution within this week.
A police official stated, "Although the amount of cash stolen from each store was relatively small, considering the repair costs for the damaged kiosks, the losses suffered by the store owners were significant," adding, "We will thoroughly pursue and strictly punish crimes that threaten public livelihoods."
According to statistics from the National Police Agency, the number of thefts at unmanned stores nationwide has been rapidly increasing over the past three years, with 3,514 cases reported from March to December 2021, 6,018 cases in 2022, and 10,847 cases in 2023.
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