Medical student detained for sneaking into neighbor's home, stealing underwear

A medical student in his 20s who memorized a neighbor's door lock passcode and broke into her apartment to steal underwear has been taken into custody.

According to legal and police sources Monday, Judge Bu Dong-sik of the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, identified only as A, a student at a Seoul medical school, after conducting a pre-arrest hearing on charges of residential burglary and theft. The judge cited "concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk" in granting the warrant.

A was caught in the act Saturday at around 9:25 a.m. after slipping into the apartment next to his own and rummaging through laundry when the female victim screamed. Police responded and arrested him on the spot. The investigation revealed that A had been secretly watching his neighbor enter her door lock passcode and memorizing it before carrying out the break-in.

The incident was not an isolated one. During the investigation, police seized and searched a trash bag A had discarded, uncovering more than 20 additional items of clothing — including underwear and socks — believed to belong to the victim and other women.

A has denied the additional charges, telling police that the clothing found in the trash bag had been "gifts from a former girlfriend," though he did not contest taking the items seized at the scene Saturday.

Police consider his account implausible and plan to verify the exact origin of the seized items while also investigating whether A committed similar offenses in the surrounding area.