Squat in 4K: CCTV alleged public defecation, ignites online debate
Published: 25 Feb. 2026, 20:48
Updated: 25 Feb. 2026, 21:38
![Security footage stills of a woman who allegedly defecated in the hallway of an office building in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on Feb. 18 [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/25/a5ef21f7-cabe-4110-8bab-a836e3d55379.jpg)
Security footage stills of a woman who allegedly defecated in the hallway of an office building in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on Feb. 18 [SCREEN CAPTURE]
An online post alleging that a young woman defecated in the hallway of a Seoul office building and fled has ignited heated debate after surveillance footage of the incident was made public.
Photographs of the woman were uploaded to an online community on Wednesday.
The online user who wrote the post claimed that at around 11:10 p.m. on Feb. 18, a young woman defecated in a blind spot of a security camera on the first floor of a building in Deungchon-dong in Gangseo District, western Seoul, before leaving in a taxi.
“We ask for an appropriate response regarding this act,” the user wrote, adding that no further action would be taken if the woman turned herself in.
The released images show a woman entering the building, relieving herself in a hurry and then leaving.
Online reactions were mixed. Some criticized the woman, writing comments such as, “No matter how urgent it was, how could she leave without cleaning it up?” and “From the building manager’s perspective, this must be incredibly frustrating.”
Others questioned the public release of the footage, saying, “It’s a natural bodily function. She may have been in an emergency. Was it necessary to make the security footage public?”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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