A man in his 60s was arrested for publicly exposing himself near Yonsei University, even as a masked naked man who has been sexually assaulting women on nighttime walking paths in the area remains at large. Police are investigating whether the two are the same person.
The Seoul Seodaemun Police Station announced Tuesday that it had arrested the man, identified only as A, on Monday on charges of public indecency, catching him in the act.
A is accused of pulling down his pants and underwear to expose himself near a spring along the Ansan trail adjacent to Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, at around 3:10 p.m. Monday. However, A told police during questioning that he had been urinating.
Police collected a DNA sample from A and are keeping open the possibility that he may be the same person as the masked naked man, continuing their investigation accordingly.
A series of sexual assaults targeting women by a naked, masked man has been occurring near Yonsei University and the Ansan trail in recent months. Following incidents in June and July, the assailant on Wednesday broke onto the Yonsei University campus and sexually assaulted a student returning to her dormitory.
Police have deployed wide-area preventive patrol units near Ansan and Yonsei University and are tracking the suspect based on closed-circuit television footage analysis.
20ki@heraldcorp.com
