"Does it make sense for a criminal who raped young women in their 20s to live in a one-room village in front of a university?"



Today (31st), the alley in front of a one-room apartment in Bongdam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the serial rapist Park Byung-hwa (39), known as 'Suwon Balbali', resided, was crowded with citizens and the police who controlled it.



This is a one-room village located only 100 meters from the back gate of a university.



It is a place where three to four-story one-room buildings are clustered along the alleyways, and mainly students and workers working in nearby industrial complexes reside there.



There is also an elementary school about 500 meters away.



The family of the owner of the one-room building in which Park Byeong-hwa moved in, said, "I found out about Park Byeong-hwa's move in only this morning through the village head."



He said, "My grandmother, who is in her 80s, manages the studio, and on the 28th, a woman came and signed a monthly rental contract with a real estate agent in Suwon. I didn't say anything at all."



He continued, "If I had known that Park Byeong-hwa was coming, he would never have given me a room."



One-room managers near Park Byeong-hwa's residence are also absurd.



The owner of a nearby studio said, "This is a place where young students and workers gather in search of affordable rooms."



Another one-room resident lamented, "I didn't get any contact from the city or agency, and the police came so I thought something was going to happen."



The villagers are also anxious about every single thing.



A resident living in a nearby studio said, "Hwaseong City is a place where trauma remains from the past Lee Chun-jae serial murders and several sexual crimes."



Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun and constituency lawmaker Kwon Chil-seung of the Democratic Party of Korea also held a street protest calling for Park Byeong-hwa's eviction in front of his residence.



Mayor Jung said, "It seems that asking for a room without informing Park Byeong-hwa's residence is an illegal contract equivalent to fraudulent activity.



After that, Mayor Jeong and others move to the university to conduct countermeasures meetings to ensure the safety of students.



The police established a hotline with the probation office having jurisdiction over Park Byeong-hwa's residence to establish a joint response system, and designate three women and youth strong teams as special response teams to manage security.



In addition, we plan to expand crime prevention facilities such as closed circuit (CC) TV in cooperation with local governments by conducting crime prevention diagnosis around residential areas.



A patrol post was installed in front of Park Byeong-hwa's residence, and

A plan to patrol with the police stationed at all times is also being considered.



(Photo = Yonhap News)