“Purposely Waited For A Woman Alone In The Elevator” — South Korean Man Charged For Assault Of A Fellow Resident

A South Korean man was recently arrested after planned assault. He had waited in front of an elevator in his apartment, waiting for a lone woman riding the elevator.

The incident took place in Gyunggi-do, on July 5, 2023.

It was said that he took the elevator from the 18th floor where he lived, to the 12th floor. There, he waited for over 10 minutes for a victim to appear. If he saw a group of women in the elevator, he let them pass. It was only when he encountered a lone female rider that he acted.

The assault took place in broad daylight, around 12pm. The perpetrator, a man in his 20s, was said to have strangled the woman. He dragged her off the elevator at the 10th floor and tried to pull her to the stairwell.

The victim recalls that although she was not sexually assaulted, the perpetrator had his pants down. She suspects that he planned on sexually assaulting her but was unable to get that far.

She suffered from superficial injury on her lips, neck, and face, while her ribs were broken. The emotional trauma was also huge as she expressed worry that she might not be able to get on elevators in the future without recalling the incident.

Thankfully, as it was in the day, residents were out and about in the building. As soon as they heard her screams, they ran to help. The person who was the first to call the police recounted that he heard screaming, and ran out to the corridor. He saw the man assaulting the woman, dragging her by the hair, right in front of the elevator.

Police arrived swiftly and apprehended the man. It was revealed that he had a prior record for sexual assault in his teens and had been sent to a correction facility.

Netizens demanded for his identity to be revealed, and expressed their disappointment in the law system that protects law breakers who are still minors. In South Korea especially, many minors take advantage of the protection law. Most cases are referred to the juvenile court, where they will likely be sent to a correction center instead of jail.