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| A man faces indictment after repeatedly exposing himself wearing women's underwear to a Russian convenience store clerk, police said. Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A man faces indictment after repeatedly exposing himself wearing women's underwear to a Russian convenience store clerk in Seoul, police said Wednesday.
Dongdaemun Police Station said on March 17 that it sent the case to the prosecution, which is reviewing whether the suspect, 37, should be indicted on charges of public indecency and attempted sexual harassment.
According to security camera video footage sent to JTBC, a cable TV network, by the store owner, the suspect, surnamed Park, entered the store wearing a black or red brassier, a short skirt, fishnet stockings and a jacket or a long-sleeve shirt, and shopped. When there were no customers around, he took off his outer garments to reveal his barely covered naked body, walked up to the employee behind the counter and paid for his items before leaving the place.
Police said he specifically targeted the woman, who works between 3 and 6 a.m., which is when he visited the store.
Police said Park drove his rented Tesla vehicle to the store and changed into his prepared outfit inside the car. At other times, he changed at an empty construction site near the store. He started exposing himself last December and the behavior continued until he was arrested early this month. He was persistent throughout the period, regularly visiting the convenience store two to three times a week. In total, he visited the shop around 30 times.
The store owner, who learned of about Park's bizarre behavior, reported him to police on March 5. Three days later, police officers came and started staking out the front of the store. On March 11, at 3 a.m., they saw the man and nabbed him. When caught, he shook badly and couldn't speak a word, according to the Korean daily Chosun Ilbo. He admitted his act to police and added that he did it because he was interested in her.
"Flashers typically target random crowds, but this guy targeted a specific person and had a simple pattern, having visited the store within the same time period, which makes him quite a unique case," Jun Ji-hyun, a lawyer, said on a JTBC news program.
The Russian, who is of Korean descent came to Korea two years ago. She said she did not report the case to police at first. But as Park became more aggressive, she decided to tell her boss.
A psychologist in Seoul's Guro District who analyzed Park's behavior reportedly said the suspect may have a sexual perversion which makes him sexually aroused by seeing people startled or surprised in response to his actions.
