'Suspicious International Mail' 2,058 Cases in Four Days... 645 Under Investigation

Photo of suspected hazardous international mail. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Reports of receiving unidentified overseas mail from abroad have exceeded 2,000 cases.

On the 23rd, the National Police Agency announced that from the first report on the 20th until 5 p.m. that day, a total of 2,058 suspicious international mail reports were received nationwide through 112.

The police have collected and are investigating 645 of these cases. The remaining 1,413 cases were confirmed to be false reports.

By region, Gyeonggi had the highest number with 641 cases, followed by Seoul with 506, Gyeongbuk and Incheon with 98 each, Chungnam with 94, and Jeonbuk with 84.

Daegu reported 73 cases, Chungbuk 71, Daejeon and Busan 70 each, Jeonnam 58, Gwangju 57, Ulsan 51, Gyeongnam 36, Gangwon 30, Jeju 12, and Sejong 9, with reports continuing nationwide.

The reports have continued for four days nationwide, starting with a package suspected to contain gaseous poison delivered to a welfare facility for the disabled in Ulsan on the 20th.

On the 21st, a similar package was found at the Myeongdong Central Post Office in Seoul, causing a commotion as about 1,700 people inside the building evacuated all at once.

Most of these packages contained inexpensive items such as lip balm randomly included or were completely empty.

In the case of the package found in Ulsan, those who opened it experienced numbness in their palms, prompting the Agency for Defense Development to conduct a detailed analysis, but no chemical, biological, or radioactive hazardous substances were detected.

Authorities including the police are focusing on the possibility that the unidentified international mail found nationwide is a 'Brushing Scam' (a method where unsolicited items are sent to random recipients who then post fake product reviews pretending to be customers), but they are also preparing for any potential terrorist threats.

The police urge that if you find a package in a yellow or black envelope marked 'CHUNGHWA POST' with the sender address 'P.O.Box 100561-003777, Taipei Taiwan,' do not open it and immediately report it to the nearest police station or call 112.

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