'I Lost, I Lost' Running Chase Ends with Surrender of 4000 Won Theft Suspect

A Man in His 40s Stole Artificial Flowers from a Mart Display
"The Flowers Were Pretty... I Had No Money at the Time," Basic Livelihood Security Recipient

A man in his 40s who stole artificial flowers from a mart in Busan and fled engaged in a chase with the police but eventually gave up from exhaustion.

Recently, the Busan Southern Police Station announced that they had sent Mr. A, a man in his 40s suspected of theft for stealing a bundle of artificial flowers placed in front of a store, to prosecution without detention.

On the morning of the 15th of last month, around 9:50 a.m., Mr. A stole a bundle of artificial flowers worth about 4,000 won from an outdoor display stand in front of a mart in Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, Busan. The store owner who discovered this reported it to the police. The police, who responded to the report, chased Mr. A for about 300 meters before apprehending him.

[Image source=Korean National Police Agency YouTube]

A video of the incident was released on the official YouTube channel of the National Police Agency on the 14th. In the video, Mr. A is seen fleeing to avoid the mart employee, and a patrol car immediately pursues him. However, when Mr. A entered a narrow alley, the patrol car had to stop due to an oncoming vehicle. As time was at risk of being lost, Officer Park Surim opened the patrol car door and ran out.

Meanwhile, the employee who was running after Mr. A gave up the chase, but Officer Park ran quickly to close the distance with Mr. A. The patrol car also followed and continued the pursuit. Exhausted, Mr. A glanced back briefly, saw Officer Park and the patrol car chasing him, and then seemed to give up, stopping to catch his breath. He was eventually arrested on theft charges.

During the police investigation, Mr. A stated, "I stole it because the flowers were pretty. I had no money to pay right away." It was reported that Mr. A is a basic livelihood security recipient.

Meanwhile, Officer Park, who caught up with Mr. A by running fast, said, "I have been exercising regularly by running. When I saw the employee give up the chase halfway, I thought I must not lose him, so I ran persistently."

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