A woman is seen kissing an elevator door in an underground shopping mall in Seoul. Screenshot from Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's YouTube channel

A woman staggering through an underground shopping mall in Gangnam District, Seoul, exhibited bizarre behavior by kissing an elevator door, which eventually led to a police investigation. It was later revealed that she was under the influence of drugs, not alcohol.

According to a video released on the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's YouTube channel, Tuesday, the woman entered the underground mall last month and began to wander around anxiously.

As she approached an elevator, she stopped and stared at her reflection in the shiny metal doors, using them as a kind of makeshift mirror. Suddenly, she leaned in and kissed the metal surface. Her strange behavior continued inside a nearby store, where she squatted in front of a display shelf, acting erratically.

A person who witnessed her actions found them to be suspicious and reported her to the police. When officers arrived and asked for her identification, she gave a false name. Sensing something was wrong, the police escorted her to a nearby station for further questioning. A drug test was conducted, which came back positive, leading to her immediate arrest on suspicion of drug use.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the number of drug offenders has surged by around 70 percent, from 16,153 three years ago to 27,611 last year. In the first five months of this year alone, 8,977 people were apprehended for drug offenses, a 21.7 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI model and edited by The Korea Times.