A 33-year-old man obsessed with sniffing female shoes has reportedly burgled an elementary school in search of more shoes, police said on Thursday.

Gwangju Bukbu Police in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, confirmed that they arrested a man, known only by his surname Park, on July 28 for allegedly breaking into an elementary school in northern Gwangju to steal six pairs of slippers belonging to female teachers. 


Park was spotted on CCTV as he was sneaking off with the stolen shoes in both of his hands at around 7 a.m., police explained.

During the investigation, Park confessed to the police that he “couldn’t resist his desire to sniff female shoes” after he became drunk, police said.

“I piled them up in a corner of my room,” Park added. “I have occasionally sniffed around whenever I felt like it.”

The intruder had previously broken into another elementary school in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province in April 2015 to steal 15 pairs of shoes and was subjected to a summary indictment, police added.

In 2010, he ran off with total 55 pairs of shoes that were collected from residences and fitness centers.

As a result, in 2013, the court ruled that his compulsion to obtain ladies shoes is “due to a mental disease,” sentencing him to a month of medical treatment in custody.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)