Seoul City Safe Return Scout Catches Sex Offender 'On the Spot'... Emergency Report After Stalking

Police to Award Commendation and Cash Prize to Brave Scout Member... Seoul City Also Plans to Present Commendation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City apprehended a sex offender in the act, thanks to a report from a Safe Return Home Scout member operating to support safe nighttime returns.

According to Seoul City on the 1st, at around 10:14 PM on the 20th of last month, scout members patrolling an alley near Siheung 5-dong, Geumcheon-gu, witnessed a man in his 60s holding the wrist of a teenage girl and leading her somewhere.

Noticing that the man’s outerwear was half removed in the late-night, sparsely populated alley, the scout members followed suspiciously. When the man in his 60s tried to embrace the teenage girl while sitting on a nearby bench, they immediately intervened to check if they knew each other.

The man in his 60s claimed they met at a bar, but the teenage girl, terrified, said she was six years old and could not properly explain the situation. Sensing the danger intuitively, the scout members continued the conversation, and another scout member called 112.

The man in his 60s and the teenage girl were separately transferred to the local police station, concluding the scene. The police have currently booked the man on charges of sexual offenses and are investigating, having transferred the case from Geumcheon Police Station to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Geumcheon Police Station plans to award certificates of appreciation and monetary rewards to the Safe Return Home Scout members who contributed to the prompt arrest, and Seoul City will also present commendations from the Mayor of Seoul.

Seoul City launched the Safe Return Home Scout service nationwide for the first time in 2013, providing 170,000 return support services annually as of 2021. Currently, 334 members are active as Safe Return Home Scouts across 25 autonomous districts.

Additionally, Safe Return Home Scout members focus patrols on high-risk areas such as locations vulnerable to sexual crimes and entertainment districts, promptly reporting and responding to witnessed crimes or emergencies. To use the service, contact the Dasan Call Center 120 or the relevant district situation room 30 minutes in advance, or make a reservation through the ‘Ansim-i App’.

The city plans to significantly enhance user convenience by improving the Ansim-i App’s Safe Return Home Scout reservation system to allow real-time bookings in the second half of this year. Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul City Women and Family Policy Office, said, “Everyone has probably felt fear returning home on dark streets at night,” adding, “We will continue efforts to improve convenience so that more citizens can easily use the Safe Return Home Scout service by making reservations simply through the Ansim-i App.”

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