hankyoreh

Late one night last October, a man surnamed Lee went to a motel in Seoul’s Dongdaemun District. The attendant wasn’t at the front desk, so Lee walked in, putting his ear to the door of rooms looking for one that was occupied. On the third floor, he heard a man and a woman talking in one room, then exited the building by the emergency staircase and hid outside the couple’s window. A residential building next door was connected to the motel’s emergency staircase.

Lee waited in the cool late night wind for around 30 minutes for the couple to have sex. To his disappointment, the couple simply fell asleep holding hands. Not having seen what he wanted, Lee then chucked the cigarette he was smoking into the couple’s room.

The still-burning cigarette landed on a blanket and caused smoke and a fire. Fortunately, the couple woke up, put out the fire and suffered no serious harm.

Dongdaemun Police Department reviewed CCTV footage from inside the hotel and announced on Mar. 10 that Lee had been caught and arrested.

By Lee Jae-uk, staff reporter

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