Short South Korean man arrested for stealing high-heeled shoes

A South Korean man, upset by women whose footwear made them taller than him, has been arrested for stealing high-heeled shoes and dumping them in local parks, police said on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old, identified only by his surname Lee, had stolen dozens of pairs of high heels from schools, restaurants and homes in his neighbourhood in the southern city of Busan in recent months.



We'd first looked into the possibility of sexual perversion," a spokesman at Busan Yeongdo police station said. "But Lee said he did it because he didn't like women wearing heels to look taller than him when he's so short," the spokesman said.

Lee, who stands 165 centimetres (5 feet 5 inches) tall, was caught because he made the mistake of repeatedly dumping a number of shoes in one particular park that was monitored by CCTV cameras. Koreans take off their shoes when entering homes and some restaurants. The footwear is usually stored in open shelving at the entrance.