South Korean Shoe Thief Targets Mourners
South Korean police say theyve arrested a second-hand shop owner who is suspected of stealing more than 17-hundred pairs of shoes, half of which were expensive designer ones. [Kim Jong-koo, Police Detective]: “We went to the suspect’s house and discovered more than 170 apple boxes with over 1700 pairs of shoes inside.” Police believed the suspect, who is only being identified as Park, stole the shoes at various funerals and mourning halls at big hospitals over the past few years. Mourners in South Korea take off their shoes before paying respect to the deceased and their families at funerals. The shoes are left at funeral hall entrances. Police said Park insisted he bought the shoes at a second-hand shoe market. Seoul’s Samsung Hospital reported to the police last Monday that a suspicious man had stolen three pairs of shoes from a funeral parlor. They tracked down Park, who had made off with the shoes pretending to be a mourner. He would arrive at the ceremony in cheap shoes and walk away with new or designer footwear when he left. Police say they found the stolen shoes in his house. Suseo Police Station put the shoes they confiscated on display in the station backyard so that the owners could come and find their lost shoes. One person whose designer shoes were stolen at a funeral says the robbery really upset him. [Lee Jong-yeon, Shoes Were Stolen]: “What an absurd thing. It was the first time in my life I lost my shoes. I was really upset. I have not worn good shoes to …