Last week, a 24-year-old American held up a shop at a Jung-gu department store in order to pay his tuition for SNU graduate school.
On the evening of Feb 18, the American — identified as Mr. F — went into the jewelry section of the department store in question and stole some 13.5 million won in goods. To prevent a salesperson from calling the police, he threatened him with a blunt object.
Police got him anyway.
Mr. F told the cops that he planned to enter graduate school at SNU in March, but he’d blown his 5 million won tuition money at a casino in Seoul. Apparently, he didn’t watch the gambling addiction commercials on AFKN.
Police said Mr. F spend four years in USFK, during which time he apparently earned a degree from a US university. After leaving the military, he stayed in Korea, studying Korean.
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17 Comments
It never occurred to him that department stores have security cameras? I think the guy subconsciously wanted to get caught.
Heh… just about any westerner robbing a store in South Korea is just asking to be caught. After all, it’s not like they can just ‘blend in’.
Stupidity is it’s own punishment.
So, will this get reported in the press as USFK crime, or English teacher crime?
#4,
Well, it’s been “American student” up until now. I don’t see why that would change.
I know the manager of that shop personally, and she told me about this incident when I met with her in her store two days ago.
The man apparently walked into the shop and, speaking in excellent Korean, asked to see a few items, which he was shown. Picking up four items (which, oddly, I was told totaled 10.5 million Won), he began to move toward the door. She said that, when approached, he brandished a pair of scissors and exited. She said that these were regular scissors (that is, pointed, not blunt), and that she was truly scared. As the department store was getting ready to close, he was unable to leave the building the way he had planned, and instead had to head out the main entrance. He then ran out into oncoming traffic, where - despite the real danger to their own safety - the department store’s security apprehended him and brought him back inside.
My friend said that his mother flew into the country to try to help sort things out. In front of my friend and this guy’s mother, he claimed to have gambled away everything he had at the Hilton’s casino, and had no money for school. By appearances, she had no idea about her son’s problems. My friend said that he is currently a student, but perhaps she was mistaken. He apologized and said that he really wanted to stay here in Korea. If my friend chooses not to press charges, he can be let go, and apparently can stay here.
From my friend’s description, this guy is just messed up, but it really upsets me to think that he could have hurt her. She is a really kind, wonderful person. I’m of two minds about what should happen to this guy, and my friend hasn’t decided yet what to do.
Here’s what your friend should do: Press charges, and have the guy deported. Theft might be forgivable, but once the thief becomes an armed robber, we’ve moved into the realm of violent crime — even if no injury was inflicted.
Violent criminals ought to be deported. Let him be his mom’s problem, not ours.
Why just get deported only? Why not a little Korean prison stay for armed robbery and then deported?
100% of Dept. Store Robberies by Foreigners in Korea in 2008 were by Americans!
100% of Dept. Store Robberies by Foreigners in Korea in 2008 were by Americans!
While MrMao is only kidding, in truth, foreigners commit robberies in department stores here more often than you might think.
Through my wife, I’ve met quite a few people who work in the luxury-brands market, and through acquaintances at different brands and department stores, I’ve heard tales of snatch-and-grab teams that come into the shops and take off in a flash. The employees describe them as being usually okay-dressed and appearing to be either Middle-eastern or Indian/Pakistani. Again, this is the employees’ description, not mine. What they take varies from a little to a lot.
As a general rule, if the criminals (whether Korean or non-Korean) are not caught, the crime will not get into the news, as the stores wish to avoid notoriety.
I am not kidding. I read it in a Korean newspaper.
Here’s Mr. F’s first mistake: applying to a Korean school. Stealing jewelry to attend a Korean university is like robbing the Hilton for a night’s stay at Motel 6.
And didn’t Mr. F already have a degree? I think it was time for F to get a real job. He was killing time to stay in Korea for some reason, probably because back in the US he’d end up in jail anyway.
I hope he’s deported.
One is not to the exclusion of the other.
Why did they show him the jewelry after he lost all his money?
taking his tuition fund to a casino shows that he’s too dumb to go to Grad Skool, even a Korean one, right there…
WTF? He robbed a jewelry store for $5k. Couldn’t few English lessons in Gangnam have taken care of the problem? After all he was headed to graduate school at Seoul University.
How do you say pound-me-in-the-ass prison in Korean?
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[...] Grad School has not. According to an article referenced by Korea blog par excellence The Marmot’s Hole Mr. F, slated to enter one of SNU’s graduate programs this March, gambled away the 5 million [...]