▲ Fugitive Kim Gil-soo is escorted to a police station in Anyang, south of Seoul, in this photo taken Nov. 7, 2023. (Yonhap)

prison fugitive-prosecutors

Police refer captured prison fugitive to prosecution

ANYANG, South Korea, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- Police have referred a captured prison fugitive to the prosecution for making a run for it during outside hospital treatment before he was caught three days later, officials said Tuesday.

Kim Gil-soo, 36, ran away while receiving treatment for abdominal pain at a hospital in Anyang, 18 kilometers south of the capital on Nov. 4.He had been detained at the Seoul Detention Center, south of Seoul, on charges of special robbery.

Police caught Kim three days later after tracking a call he made to his girlfriend from a public phone booth in Uijeongbu, northeast of Seoul. Kim reportedly received money from his girlfriend and sibling while on the run, changed his clothes several times, and looked up news articles to prepare for the chase.

Kim denied the run was premeditated.

But police suspect Kim had swallowed part of a plastic spoon as part of his escape plan. He was transferred to Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital and fled the hospital by taxi after asking prison officials to uncuff him for a bathroom visit.

Police have also referred his girlfriend to the prosecution on charges of assisting him on the run.

Meanwhile, the correctional authorities are investigating whether the response of their staff was appropriate, after they came under fire for reporting to the police that the fugitive was missing an hour after his escape.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]