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Photo not directly related to article [123rf]

A man in his 30s was arrested after posing as a cleaning worker through the secondhand trading app Karrot to gain entry to a woman's home and threatening her with a knife.

The Namyangju Nambu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Wednesday it had apprehended the suspect, identified only as A, and was investigating the case. A is accused of entering an apartment in Namyangju around noon that day and threatening a woman, identified as B, with a bladed weapon.

When B resisted, A fled the scene but was caught in Seoul about six hours later. B was not seriously injured and did not lose any money or belongings.

Police are investigating whether A intended to commit a serious crime against the victim, such as robbery or a sex crime.

"After apprehending the suspect and bringing him to the station, we plan to investigate the specific circumstances of the incident," a police official said.

Meanwhile, concerns are growing over a string of crimes exploiting secondhand trading platforms such as Karrot. The company has introduced various measures, including forced account removal and usage sanctions, but critics say these steps fall short of a fundamental solution.

In a case from early last year, a person who posted an ad seeking a caregiver for a "paralyzed girl" used it to lure a victim, then detained and sexually assaulted her — the perpetrator was sentenced to prison. In another case, a man who recognized his ex-girlfriend's account on the platform groped her at a transaction site and received a fine and a suspended sentence.

Police urged the public to exercise caution, warning that unrealistically high wages or unverified information could be signs of fraud or criminal activity.


bbo@heraldcorp.com