Lee Dae-woo, who was under the prosecution custody for theft, denied that he got out of the handcuffs with prosecutors showing evidence that he did it by force.
According to prosecutors at the Jinju office in South Jeolla Province, Lee slammed the handcuffs on a wall several times after getting away in Busan, forcing it to be loosened and was able to take his left hand out.
He then took a taxi to Gwangju, switching from one to another while concealing the handcuffs under a long sleeve shirt.
Arriving in Gwangju, he went to a market and bought a cutter with which he got rid of the handcuffs. He said he threw away the handcuff in the woods in a neaby area but could not remember exactly where.
Lee’s finding, which was a result of a report by a citizen, is causing a major stir because he had been on the loose for more than 20 days and the police and prosecution are under criticism for not acting more swiftly.
In fact, it was only seven hours that he was spotted by a citizen and reported that the police was able to track him down and take him back into custody.