South Korean police arrest hotel receptionist accused of raping Chinese tourist in Jeju

A Jeju hotel receptionist accused of raping a Chinese traveller in her room has been arrested on the charge of sexual assault, according to South Korea’s police on Friday.

The Jeju District Court approved an arrest warrant on Thursday evening for the employee, in his 30s, of a hotel in Yeon-dong on the island’s northern coast.

The suspect faces indictment after allegedly accessing the room with a master key, entering the room and raping the guest at around 4am on June 14 while she was highly intoxicated following a night out with other Chinese tourists.

Security camera footage police secured showed the employee entering the woman’s room shortly after she had been escorted there by other travellers who left immediately thereafter. After the alleged crime, he returned to the reception desk.

She later told one of her travel companions what had happened. The companion reported it to police.

The suspect admitted to police that he entered the woman’s room but claimed that he believed he was partaking in consensual sex with the woman.

The woman told police that she was too drunk a the time of the crime to take any evasive action.

Given that she was scheduled to return to China soon after the incident, police and the prosecution took legal steps for the preservation of evidence, which prosecutors can use against the suspect once his trial begins.