Police probe whether Yonsei trail arrest is naked masked man in string of ambushes

Police are investigating whether a man arrested for exposing himself on a walking trail near Yonsei University’s Sinchon Campus is the naked masked man linked to a series of incidents in the area.

The Seoul Seodaemun Police Station said Tuesday that the man in his 60s was arrested on the spot Monday on suspicion of public indecency.

He is accused of pulling down his pants and underwear and exposing himself near a mineral spring along the Ansan Jarak Trail near Yonsei University’s Sinchon Campus in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, at around 3:10 p.m. Monday.

The Ansan Jarak Trail, a walking trail on Mount Ansan in Seodaemun District, is connected to the university.

“I was urinating,” the man reportedly told police.

Police are investigating whether he is the same man suspected of sexually assaulting students and others while naked and wearing a black mask near a Yonsei dormitory and along the Ansan trail.

Police have been tracking the so-called “naked masked man,” who has been spotted three times around Yonsei University over the past two months.

A report of forcible indecent assault was filed near a dormitory in June. The following month, a naked man was seen hiding in bushes along the Ansan trail. On Aug. 19, a masked man allegedly sexually assaulted a student near the Muak dormitory before fleeing.

Police are analyzing CCTV footage and DNA evidence as they investigate whether the same person was behind all three incidents.

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]