At Least a 30-Minute Wait for Photos... Suspect in Her 60s Accused of Damaging Famous Suwon Roses Says "I Wanted to Propagate by Cuttings"

Famous SNS Photo Spot 'Blue Gate Rose' Damaged
Woman in Her 60s: "I Wanted to Propagate by Cuttings"

It has been reported that a suspect who illegally picked roses and branches from a famous rose attraction in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, stated that her motive was to propagate the plants by cuttings.

The owner marked the spot of the theft (right). Screenshot from SNS

"I Wanted to Propagate by Cuttings"...Admission of Guilt

According to the police on July 3, the Suwon Paldal Police Station summoned a woman in her 60s, identified as Ms. A, as a suspect on charges of theft on June 29. During police questioning, Ms. A admitted to the charges and explained, "I wanted to propagate by cuttings." She said she intended to cut the branches to prevent the roses from wilting and then plant them in soil for cultivation.

She is accused of cutting and taking roses and branches planted along the wall of a house in Haenggung-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, around midnight on June 24. The location, widely known as the 'Blue Gate Rose' on social networking services (SNS), is a popular photo spot, with long lines forming on weekends as people wait to take pictures.

At the time of the incident, most of the roses had already wilted, but the suspect, together with another man in his 60s, is believed to have cut and taken about ten remaining flowers and branches. The owner of the roses checked the CCTV footage on the day of the incident and reported the theft to the police.

"Too Much Was Cut, Difficult to Restore to Its Original State"

The owner, who had cared for the roses at this location for a long time, posted photos of the damage on SNS on the day of the incident, lamenting, "So many roses were cut this time that it will be difficult to restore them to their original state."

Subsequently, Ms. A commented on the owner's SNS post, explaining, "All the flowers had wilted, and the roses needed pruning, so I cut some branches at night and propagated them by cuttings in front of my house," and added, "It was such a shame to see the roses disappear." She continued, "The police officers collected the rose branches I propagated," and apologized, saying, "I'm very sorry for causing so much concern."

The police plan to investigate the man who was at the scene with Ms. A to determine the circumstances of the incident, whether there was any collusion, and to confirm the exact amount of damage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.