Police put fugitive on wanted list after escape from hospital

Social Affairs

Published: 05 Nov. 2023, 17:13 Updated: 06 Nov. 2023, 13:18

Police put fugitive on wanted list after escape from hospital

Kim Gil-soo, arrested for robbery last week and on a lam since last Saturday, has been placed on the wanted list by police. Kim's mug shot taken at a detention center in Seoul, left, and CCTV footage showing Kim near Danggogae Station in northern Seoul on Saturday when he was last sighted. [YONHAP]

Police placed Kim Gil-soo, arrested last week for robbery and on the lam since Saturday, on the wanted list.

They will pay 5 million won ($3,820) to anyone who accurately identifies and reports him to the authorities.

Kim, 36, stands 5 feet 9 inches and weighs 182 pounds. He was last seen on Saturday wearing a beige-colored outfit, black sneakers and a white mask, said the police.

Kim was arrested last Monday for robbery in Seoul. He lured his victim by falsely offering on social media to exchange money at a cheaper rate than regular banks.

Upon meeting the victim, who came with around 740 million won in cash, Kim allegedly attacked the victim with peppery spray and ran away with the money.

Police arrested Kim and detained him at a detention center in Seoul until last Thursday, when he told the guards that he swallowed part of a plastic spoon.

He was transferred to Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital in Anyang, Gyeonggi, for treatment but fled the hospital.

The officers reportedly uncuffed Kim while he used the bathroom on the seventh floor of the hospital. Kim was next spotted sprinting out of the bathroom and down to the second floor, after which the police lost sight of him.

The wanted notice on Kim issued by Korean authorities on Saturday. [MINISTRY OF JUSTICE]

Kim reportedly stole and changed into a medical gown when he ran out of the hospital, estimated to have been at around 6:20 a.m. Saturday.

Kim is then suspected to have taken a taxi to Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, and was sighted on CCTV walking with a woman who reportedly helped him pay for his cab ride.

Police suspect he then traveled to Yangju, Gyeonggi, to meet with his younger brother and to change into another set of clothes.

By the time Kim was spotted on a CCTV camera at around 4:44 p.m. on Saturday near Danggogae Station in Nowon District, northern Seoul, Kim had changed into a set of beige-colored clothes.

As of Sunday, police were investigating his brother and the woman who helped him pay for his ride and even gave him some cash.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]