'Female Restroom Murder' Threat... Police Entrust Search to Female University Student Asking "Is Anyone There?"

Man Threatens Murder Referencing 'Gangnam Station Murder Case'
Police Request Student's Cooperation Without Explanation... "Absurd"
Police: "Handled Unavoidably Due to Potential Human Rights Violation"

A post threatening to commit murder in a women's restroom at a university in Seoul was uploaded on social networking services (SNS), prompting police to respond. However, controversy arose when the police entrusted the search of part of the restroom to a passing female student.

According to the police on the 23rd, a man who recently posted on SNS, "I will recklessly commit murder at the restroom of Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul at noon," was arrested. It is reported that this man also mentioned the murder case that occurred in a restroom near Gangnam Station in Seoul in 2016.

This photo is not directly related to the article content. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

The police responded to a report in the early morning of the 21st and checked the restrooms in all buildings on the campus. However, in one building, male police officers did not enter the women's restroom themselves but asked a passing student, "Please check if there is anyone inside the restroom."

While the student looked inside the restroom, three police officers stood outside the door. After the student said, "There is no one," the police left without further explanation, saying, "Thank you."

The student said, "I thought they were asking me to check for hidden cameras or something, so I responded lightly," and later was shocked to hear from friends that "a murder threat post was uploaded and the police had responded." It was a situation where she could have directly encountered a dangerous criminal who had threatened murder.

[Photo by KBS News Screen Capture]

This story spread widely after the student posted about her absurd experience on the school bulletin board. It is known that three students received such requests, and one responded, "It was a really serious situation, and I was quite taken aback as to why they asked me to do such a thing."

As the controversy grew, the police explained, "The actions of the officers were immature," but added, "We had to search the restrooms in all 36 buildings, and while there were female officers in 35 buildings, only two male officers were available in the library building, so we acted that way to avoid misunderstandings." They also added, "If male officers enter women's restrooms, there is a risk of human rights violations, so we had no choice but to respond this way."

However, critics argue that under current law, police officers are allowed to enter public places, including restrooms, to prevent harm to people, so this was not an appropriate response.

Meanwhile, the police secured the custody of the man who posted the murder threat in Songpa-gu, Seoul, that afternoon and are investigating the case.

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