"Like Terrorism" Men Spray Coffee and Ink on Woman's Body and Flee

Spraying 'liquid' on women alone and fleeing
Various substances like coffee, ink, mucus
"Can't even imagine," women express anxiety
Severe harm if harmful substances like hydrochloric acid mixed
Experts say "Likely a crime to cause psychological humiliation"
"Must quickly catch perpetrators using surveillance and social safety nets"

In Changwon, Gyeongnam, a series of incidents occurred over the past month where a man sprayed coffee on women and fled, prompting the police to launch an investigation. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The so-called 'liquid terror' targeting women who are alone is on the rise, fueling growing anger among women. Liquid terror refers to the act of spraying liquids such as beverages or ink onto a woman's clothing or body parts.

The problem is that such acts can cause sexual humiliation to women, and if the liquid sprayed contains dangerous substances like hydrochloric acid, it can lead to serious harm. Experts have analyzed that these liquid terror perpetrators may have committed the crimes with the intent to humiliate women.

Recently, in Changwon, Gyeongnam Province, liquid terror incidents targeting women who are out alone late at night have been occurring repeatedly. The Changwon Jungbu Police Station announced on the 23rd, "Several cases of spraying liquids such as coffee or beverages at women and fleeing have occurred recently, and investigations are underway." According to the police, a total of 11 confirmed cases were reported from the 22nd of last month to the 21st of this month.

The incidents became known after a Changwon citizen shared the victimization on social media (SNS). This citizen said, "Looking for the guy who sprayed coffee on a woman’s body while riding a bicycle in front of E-Mart in Jungang-dong and ran away," and warned, "I chased him, but he ran off. Don’t do such things."

Another Changwon citizen recounted that while sitting alone at a bus stop, someone poured a beverage over her head and disappeared, saying, "I was startled and looked back, but he disappeared toward the parking lot, so I couldn’t identify him."

The police are considering these incidents to be the work of the same perpetrator and are tracking the suspect’s movements by securing nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

A man in his 20s who repeatedly sprayed black ink on a woman's legs and fled in 2019 was caught by the police. / Photo by Yonhap News

This is not the first time liquid terror targeting women alone has occurred.

Previously, a similar incident took place in Gimhae last December. At that time, a man sprayed a white mucous liquid on a passing woman on a main street and fled. The man was caught by the police last month, and the investigation revealed that the liquid he sprayed was a 'fake semen' made using condensed milk and eggs.

In June 2019, a man in his 20s riding a bicycle in Incheon was arrested for repeatedly spraying black ink on the stockings of female pedestrians. At that time, the man told the police, "After spraying the ink, I watched the women’s embarrassed reactions to relieve stress from job hunting."

Women have expressed outrage over the repeated liquid terror incidents, saying they have no choice but to live with a huge psychological burden. While the perpetrators may consider it a prank or stress relief, the victims suffer from humiliation and fear.

A female office worker in her 20s, A (28), who learned about liquid terror through the news, said, "I was really angry as soon as I heard about it. It would be very embarrassing if it actually happened to me," adding, "I don’t even want to imagine what kind of motivation people who commit liquid terror have, and it’s terrifying that women can become such targets."

Another office worker in her 20s, B, urged, "If that liquid had contained a poison like hydrochloric acid, something terrible could have happened. It’s practically terrorism," and added, "I hope there will be a strong response to liquid terror perpetrators before more serious crimes occur."

Even if liquids such as beverages, mucus, or ink do not cause physical harm, liquid terror can pose a psychological threat. If the perpetrator mixes a fatal harmful substance like hydrochloric acid into the liquid and sprays it, it could lead to serious physical damage. The mere possibility of being targeted by liquid terror can cause significant physical threat anxiety.

In December last year, a man in his 70s carried out a hydrochloric acid attack at a restaurant in Dongbo-gu, Seoul, injuring two people. / Photo by Yonhap News TV broadcast capture

In fact, rare hydrochloric acid attacks have occurred domestically. Last December, in a restaurant in Dobong-gu, Seoul, a man in his 70s sprayed a liquid mixed with hydrochloric acid at a female employee in her 30s, resulting in burns to the arm and leg of the employee and a customer.

Experts analyze that the main motive of perpetrators committing liquid terror is to humiliate the victims.

Professor Oh Yoonseong of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University explained, "Crimes where men spray liquids such as ink or beverages on women have occurred occasionally before. Since they chose liquids without injury risk rather than solids, it is seen as a crime intended to cause mental humiliation rather than physical harm."

However, he predicted that it would be difficult to impose strong criminal penalties on liquid terror perpetrators. Professor Oh said, "There have been cases where perpetrators were charged with property damage when liquids were poured on specific clothing worn by women, but except for special cases, it will be difficult to apply charges beyond assault," adding, "Strong punishments demanded by some are unlikely."

He emphasized, "Unless liquid terror becomes a widespread crime nationwide, it will be difficult to devise special preventive measures," and added, "The response should be to quickly track down and arrest the perpetrators using existing surveillance systems such as CCTV and black boxes, as well as social safety nets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.